December 11, 1946 Memorandum

[parsley]

Parsley’s Note: The war is over! Grain prices are skyrocketing and farmers are anticipating higher prices, finally.

The Canadian Government has decided to supply wheat on contact to the United Kingdom. The Government has grown to enjoy full expropriation powers imposed upon all Canadian farmers, including the East, under the War Measure’s Act, and they are now scheming how to continue those powers.

This memorandum is so lengthy, I will quote exerpts.

[parsley]

"December 11, 1946

Confidential Document
MEMORANDUM TO THE WHEAT COMMITTEE OF THE CABINET FROM THE CANADIAN WHEAT BOARD

Re: Questions of Policy for Consideration and Decision


A draft of the required legislation for the Canadian Wheat Board will precede this memorandum to the Wheat Committee.

This draft will include powers under which the Board may act as directed by the Governor General in Council, but there are certain questions of government policy to be considered and decided upon before the new grain policy is finite.

It is the purpose of this memorandum (1) to list the questions,
(2)to raise some of the important considerations involved and
(3) to give the Board’s recommendations wherever possible.

The questions that occur to us are:

(1) The drawback on domestic wheat milled for human consumption;
(2) The domestic sales price of wheat;
(3) oats and barley policy
(4) Flaxseed policy"

[winwin]

This is ancient history.Maybe the bureaucrats needed to have cntrol to help the whole country not just farmers.But today the cwb is there to help us.How can you help someone without controlling their behaviour?Farmers are of one mind.And that mind is in a building on main street in wpg.The capability and wisdom of that mind is far greater tnan all the little farmer ones,so it must have the power to help you,using its greatness.

[cropduster]

Winwin......you just got in a shipment of REALLY good stuff huh??Guess it`s got to be 5 o`clock somewhere!!!!

[Burbert]

PARSLEY, People were starving in Europe in many places in 1946. Guess we should have just let them expire, is that your point? If is is, you are a cruel and mean person. Farmers grow food to feed the world, not to just hose every living thing on the planet, extracting nickels and dimes from the starving now there is a scheme to end all. Let those that can pay have plenty, let the rest perish blah, blah, blah. Market forces can/must prevail.

[cowman]

cropduster: If you want to talk about dope, you've got to get educated? It's not "5 oclock somewhere" its "4:20 somewhere"? LOL
Sorry...I have friends in low places!

[chaffmeister]

Burbert:
Yes after the war, people in Europe needed our help - needed our food. The purpose of the CWB "monopoly" wasn't to get the wheat over there - it was to get it without costing the government of the day. The govt had guaranteed it too cheap - so instead of "sucking it up" (biting the bullet) and paying market price for it, the govt turned the tables on the farmer and said HE had to "suck it up, buttercup". So instead of all taxpayers in Canada paying to help (as it should have been), the poor hapless farmer was told he had to do it on his own.

[parsley]

continuation of the memorandum

[parsley]

1) The drawback.

At present, the Board sells wheat for Domestic consumption at $1.25 per bushel and the Government pays a drawback of 47 5/8 cents per bushel to mills on the wheat used for human consumption.

The effect of this policy is to enable the mills to sell flour and related products basis wheat valued at 77 3/8 cents per bushel, although there are some effects depending upon the tax category of individual mills.

Another result of this policy is a similarly low price for bran, shorts and middlings. Under established ceilings, these sell for something less than half of the price ruling in United States markets, and they are very desirable and cheap foodstuffs compared with other available feeds.

For several years past, it has been the contention of the Board that such relatively low prices for domestic wheat and millfeeds are incompatible with the overall scarcity of wheat.

The low resultant price of flour encourages over-stocking and waste in the domestic market, when needy countries are being denied wheat and flour almost daily.

The low price of millfeeds, practically all of which are required to be sold in Canada, affects the competitive position of the mills in the sale of flour. If our mills could sell their millfeeds at United States prices, they would be able to pay about 20cents per bushel more for wheat.

For those reasons and others, the Canadian Wheat Board recommends the discontinuance of the drawback on domestically-milled wheat. This would result in an adjustment of milled prices.

[parsley]

here's the vibe...

Barley is too cheap, we have them by the marbles at customs, but damn,we need the grain, so how do we get these barbwire-knitters to keep growing feed?

[parsley]

"(3) Oats and Barley Policy

This is a much more and involved and difficult question. The present policy is based on ceiling prices, advance equalization payments, equalization funds and control of exports.

To a high degree, varying with the district, oats and barley are feed grains, They have therefore provided the base for the wartime feeding program covering meat, dairy and poultry products.

No one interested in a full Canadian agriculture can fail to see their essentiality in this program, but for the western producer of these grains, it must be emphasized that under present policies, they fare badly on sales prices compared with realizable export values.

The immediate problem is essentially one of fair treatment to draw continued production coupled with export control to preserve enough supplies for domestic purposes. It is apparent that the future problem may be quite contrasting, particularly for oats, because markets, export or domestic, may then be hard to find”.


We are advised that there may well be legal problems in continued control of these grains. Compared with wheat, much larger amounts of oats and barley-absolutely and relatively- are use locally and interprovincially.

Large amounts do not reach the controls of elevators or railways. It seems possible that purchase at elevators, movement over railways, and movement across interprovincial boundaries constitute fairly effective controls for the federal authority as long as they are acceptable provincially and, to some extent, locally.”

[parsley]

Bet they whispered this one, cropduster:

QUOTE
The Department of Agriculture is vitally interested in feed prices from the particular standpoint of their United Kingdom contracts on livestock, dairy and poultry products. Domestic prices of these products are also involved"UNQUOTE

[parsley]

QUOTE
(4)

Flaxseed Policy

At present the Board acts a s monopoly handler of flaxseed paying a fixed and final price to producers, basis $3.25 and selling domestically under direction at $2.75.

Export is strictly controlled being confined to registered seed, linseed oil and paint.

The United States price rose to around $7.25 under decontrol and we have refused many applications from producers and others to export flaxseed.

UNQUOTE

[parsley]

Quote
"Continuation of export contro; would appear highly advisable, because of the part linseed oil plays in reconstruction."Unquote

[IAMTHEMOLE]

CP, What odds do you place that 100 dollar a barrel target at. I guess you feel 100% likelihood since you are giving a firm date. But if you were a bookie would you rate the likelihood at 2 to 1, 5 to 1, 20 to 1 or greater. Anything is possible and the dynamics are there for fireworks, but I would be interested in seeing your betting line. After all, it is Super Bowl weekend.