The CWB has to come clean to farmers

[SASKFARMER3]

Ha Ha Ha. Got you all. But Its time to discuss real things that matter.
Chavez is a crook True.
But what he is doing is trying to cling to power. Food is essential to that, so take over food supplier and your days as dictator continue.
Now to the core of this post.
Companies acted bad in the run up in prices. Perks, bonuses, allowances, private islands jets etc. Share holders got a little profit (some lots) and alot of BS about the skys the limit.
Well it came to an abrupt end. My dad use to say when things look way better than they are the end is near for that run up so get out. Well last summer was the time to bail.
Now it seems were bombarded by how much farmers will make in the year 2010 because the world still needs food. I agree the world still needs food but farmers need to make some real money or they will be lost.
Maybe thats happening already since alot of the land owned in USA is not owned by the individual farmer but someone else. In Canada we have super farms now run by a farmer (HA HA) and an advisory group who over see the system. These farmers are good at growing the crop. Well guess what these guys also take all the risk if the crop freezes or drys up two or more years in a row guess what the advisory group takes their losses and goes home. THe farm is bankrupt call Richie Brothers.
So farmers remember food is important to keep stability in a dictatorship and in Communist Countries, well may as well add the free world to that if price contols come in the near future.

[Fransisco]

Chaff makes a good point about currency. The board claims to do business in what is it 70 countries? That's a lot of different curriencies to have to deal with.

How come we don't see anything in the annual report about it?

[charliep]

Don't know where to put this and don't want to waste peoples time who are not interested in CWB issues.

Note the comment in February PPO and Basis commentary.

Fixed Price values are calculated using current and forecast tradable world values. While there are some markets where tradable values are more correlated with Minneapolis futures, there are many other markets that are more correlated with Kansas futures. As a result the FPC value for CWRS will fluctuate in response to changes in both Kansas and Minneapolis futures. Furthermore, because wheat committed to the 2009-10 PPO programs will be priced over the next 20 months, a change to any futures contract between December 2009 and December 2010 will have an impact on FPC values.

Always amazed at how black box the CWB makes their producer payment option processes and the level of risk in them including hedging across different futures markets. In this process, the CWB (through price discrimination) sells CWRS wheat into lower priced markets in competition with US hard red winter wheat and perhaps not in this statement but quite likely European/Former Soviet Union countries.

[stubblejumper]

The PPO comment was made tongue in cheek. It does not matter what the CWB does or does not do there are some who are so apposed to the CWB what they will oppose it at any chance. The PPO's were developed because producers wanted more choice. Instead of working with the CWB to make things work some producers just BITCH about everything and will not be satisfied until the CWB is total dismantled.

[charliep]

stubblejumper

To be clear, the losses around the discretionary trading on the overall pool
accounts or the deficit in the contingency/transfer of funds from the
pooling accounts are in your opinion not an issues that farmers should be
concerned about?

[Fransisco]

Not true stub, the bitching will stop as soon as we have an option other than just the wheat board or a 4x8 cell with a new spouse named 'Bubba'.

And I love the way you make a $316 million gift of your money to American futures traders sound like it's pocket change.

[Zaphod]

Chavez is simply trying to cling to power. The problem is that taking over the food industry will drive it into ruin. People will starve just so he can stay in power. Ownership by a corrupt government who rigs elections will destroy agriculture. Just wait, that country will explode.

[Zaphod]

You got me, SF. A good reminder to re-read stuff before I start typing. Chavez is still a nutbar though.

[classicalliberal]

Chavez is a socialist piece of S#$%. Saskfarmer, there was plenty of good prices available for more than six months to sell up to three years in things like corn, 2 years in canola, one year in oats and three years in soybeans at extremely profitable prices. For some reason, not many people that I know took advantage of it. By the way, those companies are controlling the prices when they can because they are greedy. It is something you would do if you could but it wouldn't be criminal if the farmer held its consumers randsome on the prices.

[classicalliberal]

I will continue to bitch until the CWB is dismantled even though we don't grow many CWB grains (maybe because the lack of choice and the hatred of dealing with socialists and socialism). Stubblejumper, if you are happy with a government run bureacracy, I suggest you switch farmland with those in Argentina which I'm sure they would jump at that chance. You can deal with the socialist Peronist government and their nationalization of the grain trade that is yet to happen.

[gregpet]

When you say profitable Classic, have you locked in your input costs for these 'sales prices.' That includes fertilizer, chemicals (herbicide, pesticide, etc...), seed, fuel, .....

How can you be certain you have locked in profitable returns unless all your input costs are covered?

[stubblejumper]

classic you just proved my point but you are a minority. When and if the majority of producers want and end of the CWB it will happen untill then there is still land for sale in the good old USA.

[Fransisco]

Wrong again, stubble. It's not up to farmers it's up to politicians. If Ignatieff snapped his fingers tomorrow,the monopoly would go poof. The farmer elections are a shame, plebiscites are a shame, surveys are a shame, it doesn't matter what farmers think or say. It's only the politicians who have the power to change things when it comes to the Board.

The majority of farmers voted to change barley two years ago. And nothing happened, the BOD said screw the majority, barley stays and the politicians agreed.

[chaffmeister]

stubble - to paraphrase you:

"It does not matter what the CWB does or does not do there are some who are so supportive of the CWB that they will support it regardless of the evidence against it."

And to correct you:

The "voluntary" side of this debate did not ask for the PPOs - they asked for freedom to choose whomever they wanted to deal with. The CWB decided to offer the PPOs in an attempt to appease them.

To paraphrase you once again:

Instead of kowtowing to the CWB some producers just REMAIN FOCUSED on what they need and will not be satisfied until the CWB is totally voluntary.

[TOM4CWB]

Stubblejumper,

Until you can shut down all our communication and Internet connections... news papers... and make us into drones... we will not submit to a lie that does exactly the opposite of the claims the CWB makes.

Lets face it Stub... IF the CWB did obtain premium prices... for western Canada... it would wreck the CDN domestic ag industry.

We MUST have individual grower decisions... cash prices every business day of the year... that are transparent through to the global grain markets.

Otherwise distortions will skew prices... and our assets will not be used in an efficient manner.

Economics 101.