The Conservative Corpse

[FarmRanger]

I don’t know jensend, most of what I’ve read from the NFU is adversarial to our industry partners, ignores economic reality, and belittles anyone who disagrees with them. A majority of Alberta farmers would like an open market, but their wishes are ignored by the NFU who would rather ridicule the Alberta gov’t for trying to accommodate that majority.

In contrast, in the Canadian canola industry, there is more of an atmosphere of trying to make the pie bigger for everyone, instead of worrying about extracting a larger share of what they are helping become a shrinking pie. We had a record canola crop last year in a world market that we are a large player, and yet because of the work farmer and industry partners have done to grow the market, we continue to enjoy relatively good prices. It’s no coincidence that there is a trend toward farmer income increasingly coming from canola versus single desk crops.

It’s a shame that all the CWB rhetoric (on both sides actually) and adversarial rhetoric on behalf of the NFU keeps any kind of cooperation between farmers and wheat industry partners from enlarging the wheat “pie” in Canada to the betterment of everyone.

[parsley]

I have a question for you, jensend. Does the following represent your thoughts?

"losses should be distributed through the value chain. if it isn't the whole system breaks down."

Pars

[Hopperbin]

NFU funded by the CWB. Says they promote local foods. Click on Find FNA Local Food and only one farm in Ont. come up.

[Hopperbin]

NFU local food sorry.

[jensend]

parsley you're so good at being irrelevant. if there are losses through the system the system is very likely to break down if the losses are ongoing. duh! you like to play wordgames when you don't have a good argument. go play on your blog.

[checking]

I've been wondering if any of you believe that the projected Conservative budget deficit will actually be much, much lower than what has been announced. I say this because all previous budget surpluses have come in higher than what the government originally expected. I tend to believe that after all is said and done, that alot more will be said than done in budgets. If these programs are anything like that allocated to agriculture in fore and likely aft budgets, they will be announced several times for the public to believe that those interests have been adequately addressed, yet there will be little uptake of funding. Jurisdictions won't be able to meet the federally imposed conditions. The only funds that will be soaked up will be ones like the study to determine if a large enough water pistol was placed in space, aimed at the planet, and the trigger squeezed could the result knock the earth off its axis!

[jensend]

here's the link to the nfu paper on profits in agriculture:

http://www.nfu.ca/new/corporate_profits.pdf

just for you parsley here's a hint: if part of the chain has price control over another part then it can take disproportionate share of the profit in the chain. you don't want to get it; i want farmers to have a market structure which enables them to share in the risks and rewards of the production of food from farm to plate. you're the one saying everything is fine, we have free enterprise markets. you're one of the few who believes that.

[parsley]

One of the differences between you and I is that I don't think anyone is irrelevant. We are farmers and have much in common.Perhaps you don't yet realize it.

In this question, I was asking your view, as I was looking at a large grain player going bankrupt. Should farmers keep it afloat, by picking up the losses, or should it go bankrupt/would it be in the best interests of everyone if it did go bankrupt?

If everyone shares in the losses, does it do more harm than good? This was Liberty's point, ws it not?

Parsley

[Hopperbin]

From Farm To Plate
Jensend you are talking about supply management. For Western Grains pork and beef etc. that cannot work.

[Fransisco]

Checking, I'm willing to bet it will be the opposite. I don't think this recession is going to be over quickly and now that the fire hose has been turned on they're going to keep it on.

[Fransisco]

Back to the NFU paper. Now that I've read it I shall have to change my postions slightly. LOL, the NFU and Wayne Easter will save us all.

It's nothing but recycled marxist class warfare. I could hear the music from Dr. Zhivago playing in my head while reading it.

[Hopperbin]

Jensend the NFU value chain link is for 2004 So maybe you should have been invested then. Where would you be today???

[Hopperbin]

I know I maybe stupid and everything but above and below the value chain thing is a contact to support and become a member of the FNU but there is no link to where the information came from.

[FarmRanger]

Normally one needs to go to a large feedlot to see a pile of manure as large as the NFU’s corporate profits paper. It’s pretty obvious why include the “Data quality and disclaimer”.

“Negative 5% return on Equity in 2004“???
A measure they call “Market Net Income” has fallen to -10,000 to -16,000 per year. Sounds bad, but what is it and who’s farm does it apply to in Canada? According to Stats Canada net farm income for Canadian Farmers in 2004 totalled over $4 billion. That POSITIVE $4 billion.
Source http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/060526/dq060526a-eng.htm

“It appears that farmers using hoes and dung are much more profitable than our satelliteguided computer-aided cohort.”
Oh really, then it appears that you would be better off selling your Canadian Farm and moving to Asia, Africa, and elsewhere. We’re still waiting for the big exodus.

There are so many things that don’t add up in their analysis, but a glaring one is their argument on corporate vertical integration. If farmer net income is negative, why would any corporation want to include those negative returns in their bottom line by buying farms? Would it not be better to buy product that someone else is willing to take a loss producing? And yet the NFU says that buying farmers out and producing in competition with them will somehow make them more money. Either farms are making money or they aren’t, but the NFU wants us to believe 2 opposite things at the same time.

It’s been a while since I’ve had the displeasure of actually reading an NFU report, but thanks for confirming that I’m not missing anything of value.
Time to get back to work.

[parsley]

I have been listening and watching Mr. "the fact of the matter is " Maritimer, and I must say I think the way he says those words and repeats them, has convinced me to consider joining the NFU.

It's their strongest argument, by far, his showtime, and flare for repetition, the Maritime enunciaton supplemented by the occassional vernacular. It's mesmerizing.

"the fact of the matter is."

Do the NFU actually allow women to vote, or do we just get to pay the fee?

Pars