Will the Canadian Grains Institute (CIGI) continue without the CWB

[BennyHin]

As most of you know the CWB provides major funding to the operational costs of CIGI.

Lets say the CWB is gone next year. What happens to CIGI?

Do you think CIGI should continue to receive funding from our deliveries? Perhaps check offs? Remember CIGI does research on more than board grains. How do you recommend they receive funding? Check offs, Government assistance (i.e. Export Development funding), etc.


What does everyone think about CIGI's value? Should they stay or should they go?

[BennyHin]

Just a clarification: CIGI doesnt currently receive a direct check off from board or non-board deliveries. My apologies. I believe the CWB's funding comes right out of all pooled revenues (see the anual report). Not sure, but I also think the pulse groups provide funding in a similar manner (perhaps someone can elaborate)

[wd9]

If the CWB no longer will do it, wheat will require to get it's act together and follow along the model of pulse or canola in terms of a wheat council of Canada. Ag Can will not fund without industry money.

Provincial grower associations who utilize checkoff to fund market development and research are easily established, again using pulse and canola as examples.

The real key is to have the whole industry to sit together (genetics, farmers, exporters, millers etc), like the canola council or pulse, and decide what is best for the wheat industry so everyone can profit and that the industry thrives and grows. In fact it could just as easily be the cereals council (less overhead).

CIGI can easily and effectively be funded in that way.

Or nothing can happen and we can all wonder why wheat isn't advancing or is successful.

Ag Can and CWB today are core funders of CIGI. There are many other funders. especially project based funding.

www.cigi.ca

[Fransisco]

wd9 is on the right track. You don't need a monopoly on buying wheat or malt barley or export feed barley to be able to fund an outfit like CIGI.

And who said anything about getting rid of the board(okay, other than its most ardent supporters figure that one out). All that's being talked about is ending the monopoly.

The buying monopoly is not the board, and the board is more than just the buying monopoly.

[BennyHin]

Thanks to Wd9 and Friso for your responses.

It's sorry though that such a serious thread receives no replies, whereas the useless stupid political ones receive all the attention (but I have to admit they are fun to read).

Are we ALL missing something? Obviously this site is more of a Sunday comics strip than a useful resource site. Maybe Parsley's "small dead animals: site is no worse than this one?

[silverback]

How about we start with a full audit of the CWB and then CIGI to ensure that money is being spent properly and effectively.

When we know we are getting value for our money, then we can decide how much they will need.

Have they ever been audited?

[charliep]

BennyHin

I assume you are refer to all the all the other aspects including grain research lab, malting and brewing technical center, etc. This is a major competitive issue for all exporters. How is customer service, market development and research handled in other major exporters? The Aussie model provides some guidance as to how things can happen.

When these services benefit all portions of the supply chain, why wouldn't all members step up to the plate to fund? If this element is a responsibility under the branding portion of the value chain roundtables and from there the agricultural policy frameworks, shouldn't this be an area where government steps up to pick up a greater portion of the tab?

[charliep]

got this from the Canadian Malt Barley Technical Centre, which is also in the CIGI building, they face uncertain times, yet do had value back to its members and farmers in my oppinion.


You may or may not be aware that CMBTC is fast becoming a primary point of difference/value added commodity in selling Canadian malting barley in the eyes of our customers. Our organization is made up of 14 members from the Barley Breeding groups, to Seed Companies, Grain Companies, Malting companies and the CWB. As a private organization our Board of Directors guides us in all of our support activities. Our Board consists of 9 members at present, two from the CWB, and one each from CGC, CIGI, AU, SWP, BARI Canada, P&H and one from the Barley Breeders.



Because of the uncertainty in the future marketing and selling of malting barley the CWB has made the decision to drop one of their memberships along with the decision to have CIGI drop their membership as well (CWB is the primary funding agent for CIGI). As a result of this we have suffered a loss of revenue of close to $180,000 for our next fiscal year (loss of the money from CIGI and CWB and matching CAFI funding). This will severely hamper our efforts to continue to provide technical support to the producer.

[wd9]

Erik, by producer do you mean producer of malt or a farmer?

[charliep]

Too bad the CWB is playing hard ball before the results of anything are known. Likely why the Aussie is leaving us in the dust in terms of serving malt barley needs into south east Asia. Their market development and research activities have nothing to do with the politics of one organization.

I note the priority/optimism the CWB showed in their long term forecast. Yet in a yet that of a drought in Australia and quality problems in Europe, Canada can't get a price signal to farmers to indicate market opportunities. What happens next year when both these regions get normal crops? What happens when Eastern European countries learn how to consistently produce malt quality? What happens to our domestic processing industry when an ethanol makes 100 bu/acre wheat the market opportunity on a farm?

Will note that $180,000 is about 10 cents/tonne of the current malt market (normally about 2 MMT). Assuming $1/bu ($46/tonne) for malt over feed, expanding the malt market by 4,000 tonnes would pay all the above.

I'll leave it there. Back to something more productive like watching a hockey game.

[charliep]

as I understand the term producer it means farmer, the CMBTC works for both the malting industry and farmers as far as variety testing for malting purposes, have toured thier facilities and it is an interesting operation
anyone that has done the CIGI course spends part of a day at the CMBTC

[Vader]

silverback, where have you been!! The auditor general of Canada - Shiela Fraser did a full audit of the CWB. You know the meaning of a FULL audit by the Auditor General of Canada. They spent millions of dollars.

<font size="-1">Source: [URL="http://www.cwb.ca/public/en/library/publications/popups/corp_Auditor_generals_report.jsp"]Click Here[/URL]</font></strong></font></p>

[TOM4CWB]

Vader,

An Audit that asked hard questions... that the CWB was not interested in answering... and kicked the "at pleasure" auditor out of the building.

The CWB has no clue about what being accountable and having integrety... no access to information, no competition, nothing that even dimly reflects a responsible member of a respected rational normal Canadian Society from a free and democratic or corporate perspective.

[wilagro]

With all of the enemies that the CWB has to deal with lately, is it any wonder that they "bar the door", so to speak. If I were running the CWB I am sure that I too would have a "fortress" mentality when the "snoops" keep poking around looking for supposed unsubstantiated infractions or mis-deeds under the CWB mandate. The CWB has been under attack by the USA interests for years and they have been aided and abetted by their "quisling" Canadian allies i.e. Canadian special interest groups...and I think you know of whom I speak.

[parsley]

wilagrow, good for you for referring to both those lunatics and dogs.

winwin must be your brother.

Parsley