ecologic analysis of required/voluntary CWB

[tower]

In the discussion of insights into problems with the Market Economy, here,
https://www.agriville.com/cgi-bin/forums/viewThread.cgi?1236788897

Vagabonddreamer suggested that I try to explain how ecologic considerations should factor into the discussion of, or a modelling of, the impact of going to a volunteer Wheat board. Here's a beginning.

It seems to me that our wonderful era of cheap oil that has made farming such a treat for the last sixty years is packin' it in. As well I think that farmers have every right to be royally ticked off at low grain prices for the last thirty years. I know I am.

The study of the system, (ekos logics is the study of the house, ekos nomics is management of the house,) should reveal that we are our own worst enemies. We try to farm according to the needs of the market. We've been subsidizing consumers with off farm work, cheap labour from our kids, lost generations of farmers and their experience, and reduced expectations.

We've bought into the economies of scale argument and the green revolution by purchasing bigger machinery and farming more land, using fertilizers and pesticides for the convenience of it, and for the increased yield that drives down the price that we receive for our product. Ain't the market place a great thing though.

With that buy in we also bought increasing prices for machinery, parts, fuel, seed, fertilizer, pesticides, and the neatest part of all, food. We farm huge tracts of land and maximize our returns to pay for it, rather than in the hope for society of ecologic sustainability.

With a world wide glut of grain on the market, at least this is what the marketplace tells us, the price can't come up. So we have low prices and who do we get paid from? the board. Who do we get ticked off at? the board. Ironic eh?

As we figure out how to feed the increased population of the next generation, on reduced fossil fuels, soil that is addicted to manmade inputs, and more expensive energy, perhaps we will find that the glut has disappeared, the cheap oil has disappeared, and our soils natural fertility has disappeared all at the same time.

The Wheat board could be a meeting place between the market, society, and farmers in an effort to solve those constraints.

[vagabonddreamer]

"With a world wide glut of grain on the market, at least this is what the marketplace tells us, the price can't come up. So we have low prices and who do we get paid from? the board. Who do we get ticked off at? the board. Ironic eh?"

"I suggested earlier that what we have to do is make thew economics fit the ecologics. I expect that might complicate things a great deal, eh?

It would definitely be easier if we could keep it simple..... make up the history, and ignore the facts."

"I'd be curious about a modelling program that could handle the intricacies involved, and I'd be happy to work on the details, but a simplistc cookie cutter won't cut it."

"gregpet, just because a concept is simple doesn't make it correct"

now...in the first quote from this thread...it seems to me that you have applied a VERY simple example to supply demand economic model...wouldnt you agree that the CWB formula makes the selling/holding of grain a far more complex problem??? ...i think some of the people who want out of the CWB feel that they can market their product in a more beneficial matter themselves...

not dealing with the CWB myself...i still do not understand the mandate that the CWB currently operates under...ie maximizing profit??? maximizing long term returns??

the only reason i included the other quotes was because i feel you are posting conflicting ideals with respect to some economic models...

if you say the CWB situation cannot be dealt with in simplistic fashion..then how can you on the other hand deal with supply/demand economics as a simplistic model??? vs

[tower]

I wouldn't want to give the impression that I have no contradictions... I'm just not seeing it in your examples from my quotes. I wasn't suggesting that grain marketing is a simple question of whether or not there is a glut on the market. I was pointing out that this is the reason, simple perhaps, that we are given for low grain prices.


I mentioned that simpler is not always better, easier is also not necessarily better. Something that is simple and easy is more likely to be a dreamers model.

There are people who believe they can do a good job on their own behalf. I expect they would have to have a simpler approach to ecologic marketing than a body like the Canadian Wheat Board.

The Board has its own contradictions. Its prime focus is supposed to be the marketing of grain for the producers, but governments have long saddled it with the additional and wholly contradictory mandate of assisting secondary and thereby tertiary industry in its purchase of grain. That isn't going to work, especially when the only sustainable feeder operations may be range fed animals like bison.