charliep, The sky is the limit, how many times do I have to point it out, I have a home PC, I can now market anywhere in the world. Grain companies are now my best friends, they'll help me do it ALL. They'll do the r & d cause they are such good guys, and if they don't I'll sell to the cow guys that surround me, and sue them if they don't pay on time. The ABC can be rolled into the private sector. We are all poised to be RICH, RICH, RICH. Survival is no longer an option, lets all get bigger and badder. Farmers are going to rip the world a new one, in the near future, we have the power and are going to use it. In the mean time lets get rid of the ENTIRE Dept of Agriculture too, they've done a number on the industry, government will be happy to save the cash! My home PC is now God, the information highway awaits. Got to go now, I have a customer in KAZIKASTANOLIA wanting to buy a bag of orgasmic carrots, premium price, if I can figure out how to get it there, or where the he-- the place is! If in doubt, I'll call my friends at Cargrill.
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Burburt take a look at what your buddies from Cargill are saying about your preciouce CWB.
I do believe they are your freind in this fight.
By Roberta Rampton
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, April 23 (Reuters) - Ottawa should wait until Aug. 1, 2008, to put its new barley marketing regulations into effect to give maltsters time to fill or unwind existing contracts, a spokesman for a major Canadian malting company said on Monday.
Maltsters have made significant sales based on contracts for barley supplies with the Canadian Wheat Board beyond Aug. 1, 2007 -- the date Canada's agriculture minister has set for the agency to lose its sales monopoly, said Robert Meijer, spokesman for Prairie Malt Ltd.
"We can push (the date) back, or the wheat board and the government, I suspect, will be held fully accountable for the liability this is going to create in terms of costs," Meijer said.
Maltsters have told government officials, including Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl, that the liability would be in the "high tens of millions" of dollars, Meijer said.
Prairie Malt is owned jointly by Saskatchewan Wheat Pool <SWP.TO> and Cargill Ltd., Canada's No. 2 and 4 grain handlers, and is the second-largest of four malting companies in Canada.
The industry buys about half of the CWB's malting barley supplies and exports more than C$200 million ($179 million) of malt per year. Canada is the world's second-largest exporter of malt, which is used to make beer.
Officials were not available for comment from Canada's other maltsters: Canada Malting Co. Ltd., Rahr Malting Canada Ltd. and International Malting Co. Canada Ltd.
The government published its draft regulations on Saturday to end the CWB's monopoly on sales of barley from Canada's main Prairie growing region to maltsters and export markets, which would give farmers the option of selling directly to buyers.
A government analysis accompanying the regulations acknowledged the CWB might not be able to attract enough barley to fill its sales contracts.
"Some companies ... may have to pay higher prices to obtain barley from grain companies or directly from farmers, as barley prices have increased recently," the government's regulatory impact analysis statement said.
There is a 30-day comment period for the regulations, after which time the department and cabinet will consider whether changes are required before bringing them into effect.
The CWB has not yet determined whether it will continue to sell barley past Aug. 1, and has told farmers it can longer provide an outlook for returns for the crop because of the uncertainty.
The CWB and other groups have also said they may challenge the government's plans in court.
In an interview last week, Strahl insisted he would not delay the Aug. 1 start date.
Maltsters knew the government intended to make changes to the CWB's monopoly, Meijer said, but did not know how plans would unfold.
"We knew change was coming, but we had no tools to manage risk or secure business," Meijer said.
The only legal mechanism maltsters had to secure supplies was to contract with the CWB, he said.
Prairie Malt would like to see the regulations specify an Aug. 1, 2008, change date to allow time for any legal challenges as well as to give maltsters enough lead time to adjust contracts and secure future supplies, Meijer said.
"We're talking about a year to get it right," he said.
($1=$1.12 Canadian)
((Reporting by Roberta Rampton, editing by Peter Galloway; Reuters Messaging: roberta.rampton.reuters.com@reuters.net; 204 947-3548)) Keywords: CANADA WHEATBOARD/MALTComment
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