Letter From Richard Gray on Malt Barley

[Burbert]

Chuckchuck, Boy the free marketers sure squeal loudly when confronted with some common sense and logic. I agree it would be terrible to discard an entire structure, system, just to see what is going to happen. My bet is that the new way of doing things will be as unhelpful as, killing the CROW was!!!

PS I grow malt, each and every year, hence am very concerned about the distorted information that is being given out by the self appointed, know it alls studying charts and in hind sight making brilliant marketing decisions.

[chuckChuck]

bgmp. It is just not about whether you like pooling or not. Moving to an open market for barley will according to Gray lower the malt barley price.

Don't you think it would be wise to consider the overall price consequences of an open market? Individual freedoms are important but responsibilty to the rest of producers is also very important.

Pooling is simply price risk management. Most farmers are not good at price risk management in open markets. According to Gray if you used a simple average in any open ag. market the majority of farmers sell just slightly below the average price.

With wheat you also have the choice of using the DPC, Basis and FPC at the Board which effectively let you price outside of the pool at US elevator prices.

You also have a huge array of open market crops to play with.

What more do you want?

[chaffmeister]

When one door closes, another opens. But we often look so regretfully upon the closed door that we don’t see the one which has opened for us.’

— Alexander Graham Bell

[charliep]

I will note that farmers are not big users of the fixed price contract (1206 tonnes of malt barley in 2005/06 and 343 tonnes of feed barley). EPO use was higher (annual report). I assume that the reason the FPC programs are not used is because they do not show value/meet a farmers business needs.

With regards to farmers selling at the market low, participation in the A and B feed barley pools would verify this. Farmers delivered the most feed barley at the market (market of last resort when bins are full).

Daily price contract for feed and malt barley. Doesn't exist today. The CWB has an opportunity to quit talking and bring it on. Why wasn't this program introduced at the same time wheat was?

[wedino]

chuckvader, Show me Gray's letter on how the cwb can do better on marketing of oats or canola.

[bgmb]

Chucky

What more do I want?

POOLING DOES NOT MAKE SENSE ON MY FARM!!!!!

Can i be any more clear.

What I want:

I want an open market for wheat and barley.
I wanted to sell my wheat off the combine this fall to free up storage for a record crop and create cash flow after all wheat prices a couple of hours away in the united states were very attractive.

Instead since i couldn't deliver my wheat I had to sell canola even though i thought the market would go up.

But gray would never consider a scenario like that in his study. he would just assume most farmers are too simple to figure that one out.

It comes down to the fact that I think i can do better than the CWB on my own.

Why not give me the opportunity to try?

[wilagro]

And IF you can't do better on your own? Then what? Are you going to cry and moan and advocate a return to a CWB type organization? OR will it be too late?

[Burbert]

wilagro, While we are at it, lets reinvent the Alberta Wheat Pool too! No, no we have Agrisnore, a real open market go getter, that still has elevators standing at locations across the prairies with railroads running past them, and mergers, yet they refuse to buy a kernel of grain. They want to sell us stuff. Oh wait there is another Canadian option, my friends at ESOOOOOOOOO, they want to sell us fertilizer too, talk about having to deal with scumm. Which is the best of the worst, thats where we have to deal, talk about competition WOWWWWehh!

[wilagro]

Burbert: A good idea. The "old" Alberta Wheat Pool was a farmer owned co-operative that did for the most part work to our advantage. After the business school trained management types got finished with IT, it became just another business whose main purpose was "fleece" and that is not the type that comes from sheep either.

I think these "youngsters" will just have to learn the hard way. ADM and Cargill are patiently waiting for the future to unfold.

[rainman]

Wilagro, all I want is a chance to learn the hard way!! If all the supporters are so informed as to what would happen if barley dissapeard from the CWB, then why are they hanging on so tight. If there was a choice and I could market to either side, then the CWB should show that they are so great by delivering the farmer a higher price. I think it is ridiculous how there are all of these outside forces trying to hold on to the board, and many are not farmers!

[Fransisco]

Chuckchuck said, "Individual freedoms are important but <b>responsibility to the rest of producers is also very important.<b>"

Chucky, it is not my responsibility to make your theoretical marketing plan work.

I owe you nothing.

I have no responsibility to you other than to leave you alone to do what you think is best for yourself and your business. Why can you not respect your neighbors enough to do the same?

If you can't figure out how to capture the average price that sets your heart aflutter that's not my problem. I have a farm to run, I don't have the time or desire to run yours as well.

There is certainly no 'moral' obligation on my part to do so. That is as much a fabrication as the boards 'premiums'.