Value Adding on the Farm

[parsley]

Remember my question?
" A producer who mills his own wheat on his own farm can then sell this "non-board" flour direct to his customers throughout Canada. However, when he goes to export that same flour, he is denied a CWB export license. Would you please explain how the CWB's non-board flour restriction can possibly be in compliance with NAFTA?"

This is a very important question for small on-farm millers, particularly, those with stone-ground flour, wanting to export.


You can tell this question was judged non-valuable by thalpenny because it remains unanswered.

The CWB is not interested in producers' value-added efforts at farmgate. The CWB likes the multinationals and big feed mills. The CWB even issues free export licenses to the feed mills.

Parsley

[parsley]

MY question about Little Joe is really about where the value-adding happens.

thalpenny's typical CWB answer "The CWB Producer Direct Export program is not intended to restrict access to markets, but single desk selling isn’t in place to create huge arbitrage opportunities with the pool account for individuals. ", does not address the value-adding problem. .......

the barley pearler in Ontario gets a no-cost export license, while the Western producer has to do the buyback.

The eastern farmer makes more money and the Western farmer makes less money. Where would you value-add? Those cleaning, pearling, bagging, shipping and marketing jobs do not take place in our communities because of this kind of regulation. This kind of answer to Prairie problems.

Parsley

[parsley]

I shared a CWB Directive with Agri-ville.

'In 1994, the CWB sent a "NOTICE TO ALL MILLS" and STATED "Grades higher than Nbr.2 CWRS 12.5 protien are restricted" In other words, mills in
Canada were simply not allowed to buy high-grade, high-protein wheat.'

thalpenny responds with "It’s misinformation to indicate they don’t or can’t source the product directly. "

halpenny, the mills COULDN'T source the product directly. PERIOD. The CWB stopped all sales. One miller that was contacted stated they were very unhappy with the CWB directive because as millers, they had to put more additives in the bread as a result of being forced to bake with lower quality grain. They wanted to buy directly from farmers for a higher price and were outright denied by the CWB. Denied.

Perhaps you lack information thalpenny.

Parsley

[parsley]

Moderator thalpenny doesn't think the question about the conflict of interest of the CWB acting as a regulatory arm as well as being a marketing arm is worth answering. That's CWB thinking.

In Australia, the regulatory arm and the marketing arm of the Australian Wheat Authority were recently detatched because they recognized the conflict of interest, and acted to correct it.

Maybe they realized that if you are through changing, you're through.

Parsley

[parsley]

halpenny states, "Export guidelines are for the sole purpose of ensuring returns to farmers are maximized and the value of the single desk is optimized for farmers. "

Bureaucrats that work for the CWB often try to tell farmers that this is what the CWB has to do . Maximum is not what the Act says.

The fact is the CWB has a legislative duty to get what the Act says is "reasonable".
Parsley

[TOM4CWB]

Boy Parsley,

I would really hate to make you mad!

Just kidding, you seem like a nice person, a little like a falcon though!

I wonder, do you think the CWB actually monitors this sight, I mean other than thalpenny?

[chas]

Parsley: The federal Government and its bureaucrats have legislated the Western Canadian agricultural industry into transfering wealth to Eastern Canada. Now it is slowing changing into flowing West. Now if we could convince them to change to an open market system domestically to create value add industry and allow that product to be exported with out a buy back. Maybe we could increase our domestic use of bulk commodities. Rural Western Canada might create employment for a few dying towns. Chas

[parsley]

At one time, there was a CWB decree in permit books that limited the amount of wheat a farmer could mill annually. That prevented value-add right on your own farm.

How did they have the nerve to pass a regulation limiting farm-held grain milled on the farm? If there was a statute that backed up their regulation, it would still be in effect. Think about it....farmer held grain.....and the CWB telling you you cannot mill it.

All of a sudden in the '90's you can mill your grain on your farm! Really. Must have been a big parliamentary change we all missed.

Or maybe just another dose of CWB "misinformation" that is making me plain crusty, Tom4CWB.

Chas, don't wait for the CWB to tell you, or inform or give you anything. YOU tell them. They work for you. For us. It's just that they have forgotten it. And so have we.

Parsley

[TOM4CWB]

Parsley,

I beleive there is restrictions on how much flour I can have milled and give to food banks in my own home town!

When do you think the CWB will break the flour mills monopoly over us?