rural community

[ValueChainFX]

Well chas thank you for sending me to the other forum I did leave a short note there as well, but again, I state that we can point fingers around at niche markets, governments, associations where ever we like but when we point a finger we got more coming back pointing at us then we have pointing at the other groups. In the global market place a good strong product on a foundation built with some old fashioned values and some new technologies will out perform anything else out there!

As far as the fna is concerned I have dropped them a line! Hope to hear from them soon! If the technology and marketing strategies are in alignment with the future and they can do what they say! YAHOO we have someone on our side!

Have a good day!

web site
http://valuechain.homestead.com/index.html
e mail
valuechain@home.com

[chas]

Valuechainfx
I think you missed my meaning on niche markets and value added markets but yes I do aggree the the FNA is the direction we should be headed. Chas.

[ValueChainFX]

Chas:

I tend to agree with a few minor exceptions to what I have seen so far. I still do believe that a body needs to have the proper checks and balances in place throughout any structured organization. Those checks and balances must be observed, maintained and the information made available to all the levels, it must be independent so there is no undue influence and must for sure be looking out for each and every members best interests.
The biggest challenge I have seen in our agri-industry in the export markets is the ability to supply the same product every time. The Value Added products especially are hard for the big guys to achieve time after time!
You seem to be full of the spirit that can make it work, would love to hear your vision of the system that you would like to see?

[chas]

ValueChainFX
This is my theory in short.
Marketing Solution to Farm Crisis.
The farm has been in a crisis situation for 152 years, that was when the first commodity market was opened in North America. The commodity markets were established so grain buyers could protect their position when buying from producters and then selling the same amount on the futures to protect their purchase price plus their freight and handling fees thus building in their profit. Their is no consideration for the cost of production for producters in this marketing process.
The traders very actions of selling and buying into the future limits the upward movement of the price of grain to a mimium. The grain buyers are not so much looking at supply and demand as they watch trend charts to establish the price. This act of protectionism in grain trading has resulted in the price of grain remaining relatively the same low price for 152 years, not allowing it to keep up to imput cost. In my view there is not a surplus of grains in the world. Every farmer including myself sells every bushel that we grow each year. To me a surplus of a commodity happens when there are no buyers for it. This would indicate that our problem is not surplus but how we price our grains and oilseeds. Governments are unable or unwilling to over come this pricing problem. The less farmers the less complaining.
The producters by forming their own Producter Contolled Marketing Agencies North Amnerica wide or preferrable taking in South America and Austrailia also, could very well allow us to reach the real pricing market. Large grain traders and the commodities market would dissappear from the lack of use as the agencies took over. The Agencies would market all of our grain and oilseeds domestically and all export sales. The real commodity market will come to light returning the cost of production, aliving and a profit for the family farm and done in fair way for producers and consumers.
Farmers have always wanted freedom to market their goods. In reality they have never had it because of the operation of the commodities market which kept the industry on the verge of bankrupcy throughout history. The Governments of Europe, Japan and the USA are prime examples of who believes the commodity market doesn't work - they subsidize their farmers to some sustainable level.
Indiviual farmers are poor marketers not because of their ability but because of the false world price produced by the present marketing system that protects middlemen and processors.
We must convince all farmers that by merging together we can gain control of our market and control over our imput cost to build a sustainable future for the family farm. Without Agencies the farm crisis will continue forever. Marketing boards like the CWB have been limited from getting a higher price for farmers because of the limiting factors of the flat line price created in the comodities market. The markets have failed us for 152 years, its time we took charge in marketing our own product. There is no surplus in the world, people are living from hand to mouth on a 45 day supply of food. Thank God there has not been a food production disaster.
Think about it we can make farming a sustainable industry by taking control of our marketing as a group, individually we lose. Chas

[edbaker]

Hello, all,

A few days ago I added a message to "Commodity Marketing" asking how people would like to increase local market for grain, especially low quality grain (burn it in a grain-fired stove).

One respondent asked about quantity of wheat or rye that it burns and another asked about canola, (people will ask those difficult questions!) so I tried to contact my friend who builds them.

He's in Louisville at that huge farm show (three or four large show halls - you can get lost in there!) this week, showing the stove. Busloads of farmers go to it from Ontario each year.

While there with him about 4 years ago, I went to some of the booths dealing with improving the life of farmers, asking if they knew what they could do to enhance farmers' life better than anything else?

"No, what?" they asked.

"Do something to curb the power of Cargill", I replied.

"YEAH! HOW DO YOU PROPOSE THAT WE DO THAT???", THEY ASKED.

"I don't know", I replied. But I thought after that I should have told them to get in touch with the Canadian Wheat Board and the Prairie Pools.

The international oil cartel is composed largely of a number of joint stock companies, mostly U.S. based, so they have to make detailed reports to the Securities Commission.

The half a dozen members of the international grain cartel are private companies, so make minimal reports to anyone, and those reports never get publicized.

I gave my brother, now winding down a grain farm near Regina, as he has no son who's interested, the book, "Merchants of Grain", for Christmas a few years ago.

He said, "Thanks for the book, Ed, -but it made me mad". Indeed.

You guys are going to have to have a huge, strong, well financed marketer to beat them. And they're vertically integrating.

Remember Henry J Kaiser, who made buckets of money building little liberty ships in World War II, who made interesting cars after World War II, competing with the big guys? He lasted for a little over 10 years. They fixed him.

Then the little imports came in, and the slogan of the big American manufacturers that they were giving consumers what they wanted sort of died on the vine. Remember the whimsical ads for the VW beetle - including the one showing a snow storm asking how the snow plow driver got to the plow? I agree - I had one with a bit oversize snow tires in hilly Ithaca, New York - it would go through almost anything.

So what are the auto companie doing now? Consolidating worldwide. Enough of this foreign competition nonsense.

Sorry to rain on your parade, folks.

Ed Baker eddbaker@yahoo.com

[ValueChainFX]

Ed

Sometimes rain is GOOD! There will always be a Cargill or 2 around so that we must live with, and that is not a bad thing. I guess what we have to do is not try to take the big guys head on. We are more then capable of doing some very specific things better then the big guy. Their markets are designed on volume (huge volume). I believe that by being better then they are at providing not only high quality but a unique product, that includes our end users feed back and tracking systems with information flow up and down the supply line we can develop not only the exact products our end user wants but cut our costs of production in the process. Many people call these niche markets, well, at the present time this niche is waiting to explode but it is up to us as producers to build the foundation that will save us money, make us money and lock in the customer base.

[chas]

ValuechainX: Cargil and similar companies could be reduced to grain handlers if the farmers of the world would choose another way of pricing their product other that the commodities market. We can hire our own people to discover price just like John Deere does. Chas

[ValueChainFX]

CHAS

You are right chas, I already agree with that. As you know I do feel that the only way we can work our way out of many of the present day challenges is to pull together! Even if that means to form a company with all the components it takes to go from farm to fork. Including your management, marketing and QA folks. But also means that this new business structure works for everyone in the chain. The groups value is directly tied to performance of the team as a whole. Although you think you may have to put the farm up to do this, I am suggesting that groups are formed and represented by investment into the group and the value of that investment. Like buying part of any other company or part of a company, your contribution is calculated back into the overall value. Your products sold through this method would fit the goals, vision and direction of all involved.

Interesting to see who is ready and who isn't, as I believe the window is going to close shortly . Have fun all talk again soon.