Better Way To Price

[ianben]

Thanks cm
Apology not necessary though much apprecated. I am glad of your experience and knowlegde and the others who try to help us farmers see the light.
We are a stubborn bunch our own worst enemy.
We refuse repetedly to see when people are trying to help and blame THEM for our problems.
This makes me very angry with my fellow farmers.
Can't they see WE ARE TO BLAME!!!!!!!!
We are not a SPECIAL CASE.
Other businesses have similar problems,
umbrella manufactures the rat bait industry I mentioned earlier, all manage to maintain a profitable business
without boards subsidies or futures markets.
Why must we always blame someone else???

Perhaps the truth is just too awful.

We believe we have a right to produce as much as we can and rely on a disaster elswhere in the world to regulate supply.

We believe governments should bail us out if this disaster does not occur or it happens to US!!!!!
They do so only because we have political clout not because it is good for us.

We believe other farmers could not act in a sensible way even when both our interests would benifit.

Worst of all we blame the people who try to help us.

HOW DO WE SLEEP !!!!!
PERHAPS THE CWB IS TO BLAME AFTER ALL.

Regards Ian

[TOM4CWB]

Ian,

If the CWB refuses to admit to reality they are to blame.

If the CWB were to come clean like Ontario Wheat Board did, it would bring a great sigh of releif to Western Canada.

Check out the Ontario Wheat Producers' Marketing Board .com site and to say they have changed for the better over the last 3 years would be a great understatement. They have;

Producer direct exempted sales,

Minimum pricing contracts,

Cash pricing,

Pooling pricing.

All in an open and completely accountable manner.

It has obviously not been easy for Ontario Board staff, and problems occur.

But the Ontario Board stopped the move to dismantle this marketing co-op, in the nick of time. Now Ontario Farmers are reaping the benefit of an open accountable market that works for wheat farmers instead of against them.

What do you think, should the CWB give this a try?

[ianben]

Hi Tom
Yes I can see there are problems with the CWB which need reform.
But this will not solve the problem if young farmers see no future in our industry or cannot borrow the money to farm.
We will become EXTINCT.
Chas says the average age of Canadian farmers is 56.
Are enough young farmers joining the industry to replace them???
In the UK a resent poll of young people put farming as the WORST job,

So Tom instead of starting a new thread on the CWB today.
Check out the MMB story in UK
Consider Wheat for fuel
See if CharlieP could help.
Admit most of what I wrote above is TRUE.
Why do we not learn from others?
Can we never join the 21st century???

Regards Ian

[TOM4CWB]

Ian,

I guess I try to solve one problem at a time.

The CWB has my undivided attention.

If I could market wheat in interprovincial and export trade, for use as fuel, outside the CWB, then this would be a good project to work on.

However, the CWB has complete control over this wheat fuel market.

I still have to come back to solving the CWB marketing problem.

My sons are watching, will they farm?

I do not know. Will we give them enough freedom to be innovative so they will see a future in farming?

[chas]

This discussion has been great for me and has made me see things a little bit differently then when I entered the site. My 26 years of farming have taught me not to get so intrenched in an idea that you can't see another way of doing or another point of view as my wife puts it. Pricing is a huge complex issue involving big money. I can't say I have soften my opinion a whole lot but I think we have all given in a little in consideration of others.
Tom4cwb I have said this on two other threads I like your idea of a Ablerta wheat and barley board to benifit farmers in the way the Ontario board has. I'am also inclined to agree with the provincial board, as to large an area creates to many hard to control problems.
Chaffmeister you stablized the price about $3 to low for a farmers liking. Lets trade wheat around $7 instead of $4. I often wondered why the $4 figure
has to be the price forever. The $7 price would not add any to the retail price of any wheat product that we would really notice. Chas

[ianben]

Hi Tom
I do admire your efforts on reform of the CWB and all the other freedom fighters too.
I wish I could believe it will make a significant difference in the longer term
Reform of the MMB with smaller boards as you now seem to be advocating was a disaster.
When there was ONE BUCKET FULL of milk too much the prices crashed because no one was prepared to dispose of it.
More boards without a solution to the farmers disease can make things worse.

Why must you put all your eggs in one basket and concentrate on the CWB???
You grow wheat AND canola.

Why can you not fight for wheat for fuel or any other solution you think might help at the same time????
I repeat I do admire everybodies passion and determination and would love to see it win.
But is this single mindedness necessary?

Regards Ian

[parsley]

I've been thinking about you in the last few days; there is news of England on the radio, and not good news, with the H & M. It sounds really discouraging for you folks. Really send our best.

Without determination Ian, there will be NO change. From what I get from "inside", many CWB actually staff abhor farmers. They will not instigate any change because they have no incentive, they are very well paid.
The government likes the way it is. The Directors really have no power.
It's the farmers who are going to change this.

And they will.

Parsley

[chas]

Ianben: Thanks for sharing your experence with smaller boards, looks like we should fix what we have. ( CWB)
Parsley: Your last view of the board could be hitting the nail on the head and farmers are the only thing that will change it. This is such a complex issue that its going to make change a very difficult job but that doesn't mean that we will give up. We need some very clear thinking to convince others of the benifits of change. Chas

[chas]

Chaffmeister: Don't disappear from the site. I still need you to stablize the price just a little bit higher. Tell your spectulator friends we could use a little more confidence in the market I would like to go back to California next winter after we get this market all straighten out. The family farm needs a little more sustainability first though. Chas

[chas]

Again, the question is one of value - can a single desk for selected western Canadian grain 'products' (not commodities) make a bigger pile of money out of the pile of grain farmers want to sell each year? That is the intent.

One way to do this is to concentrate on the needs and desires of the end-use customer.

Think of wheat as a product. Canada has developed seven (and soon eight) distinct classes of wheat.

We have arguably the least expensive segregation system in the world, with our grading and variety registration system. These are significant competitve advantages.

How to ensure we can optimize our comptitive advantages? One way is to ensure that investments in market development and technical follow up get made, and that the benefits get captured. Single desk selling does that. When the CWB interests a market in CWRS or any other class of wheat, farmers are assured that their marketing organizaiton will capture that market and they will share the benefit. Not a selected few farmers, but all will share.

Is this the best approach? It is if you think of the CWB as your business. Are there changes to the CWB required? Absolutely. Are they happening? Undoubtedly. Are the changes being driven by elected farmers? Assuredly.

Tom