CWB slow to pay...farmers and CEO

[Burbert]

They say that the only constant in life is change itself. I for one, hate the changes that have occurred on the farm during the past few years. SLOW DOWN boys and smell the roses, once in a while. We all have a right to exist and make a decent living. We all don't aspire to be billionaire land barons...

[cropduster]

Yes I agree Burpit,but to slow down to the 1950`s is unacceptable for the rest of us.You can do what YOU want.You have NO right to dictate that to others!

[cowman]

Burburt: Unfortunately it is pretty hard to slow down and smell the roses? If you want to stay farming...in any sort of way?
Inputs just keep going up and no way has any commodity kept pace? I could cite you barley prices or cattle prices, I could cite you fuel costs or machinery costs, or taxes,or utilities or a million other things?
In 1988, when I took over the farm, I probably could have looked forward to a fairly comfortable existance. Soon afterwards, I "diversified"...not into more agriculture, but the oil patch? Greedy thing that I was, I saw a real potential to make a better living for my family while still retaining the farm. I've never regretted that decision.
Today my son,my spouse, daughter in law, grandson and soon a new edition
are able to live here and make a very decent living. I don't think that would be possible if dear old Dad(me) hadn't decided he wanted more out of life?
I don't quite get this "CWB debate"? Mr. Strahl has clearly stated the CWB isn't going anywhere? You will still be able to market your grain through the CWB?
Will they have to do a better job and be more accountable? Well...yes they will! But that is a good thing?

[Burbert]

Cowman, I took over the family farm too. I have seen and supported most of the changes that have occurred at the CWB. I do not and have not supported many of the changes withing the grain farming industry. In other words, railways and grain companies are not on my list of friends. In fact I hate what they have done and the way the industry has changed. I believe that they are behind the current effort, to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Divide and conquer, the market will set the price for commodities. We will have price discovery at last, but it will be the lowest price that will prevail.

[FarmRanger]

"We will have price discovery at last, but it will be the lowest price that will prevail."

As opposed to what we have now - lower than market prices and no accountability?

[silverback]

What a sad, sad victim statement that was!

Why in the hell are you still farming with that kind of an attitude. What don't you hate at the moment?

How is it you can hate everything around you, but the CWB is the one shining star to save the day?

Did you ever stop and think that maybe some of the problems on the farm are due to the way we are forced to market the best product canada can grow?

Quit taking your bitterness out on everyone else and decide if it is really worth it for you. There are a zillion other jobs out there if you want.

Insults directed at others on this site only show the level of maturity of the writer.

[cowdog]

I don't know why Chuck doesn't fire all those unrulely democratically elected farmers members of the Board and replace them with more anti-Wheat Board people, so, his buddies in the energy and agrobusiness can treat the bunch of you like the peasants you are.

[cowman]

cowdog: I think Strahl is making a mistake by some of the games he's playing. Instead of this big anti-wheatboard campaign he should have just instructed the CWB to issue no cost buybacks.
It will be interesting when the barley plebicite is in? It will be really interesting if Alberta votes overwhelmingly to opt for choice? I would hope if that is the case Mr. Stelmach will request Alberta be taken out of the designated area? The fact is most of the barley grown in Alberta never enters the single desk and certainly not the feed barley? The malt barley marketing this year is a complete disaster...much of it moving into the feedlot! The CWB really has no business being in barley.
Now I don't know about you, but quite frankly if it was possible it would be canola every year...on this farm! And that is the big evil corporate world of Cargill? Why?... because it pays more and there are lots of contract options.
Barley is a necessary evil in the crop rotation.

[coppertop]

interesting to note that Alberta MP's are asking their constituency associations to allocate several thousand dollars toward an advertising blitz to remind barley producers to vote !!!

[Burbert]

I think that we are headed for a Fed election this Spring and the non-binding barley Pleb will be a non issue. Probably another Liberal gov't will result. Too bad cause P.M. HARPER has tried to do a good job and kept election promises. But the world is a cruel place and as much as we huff and puff, there is little we can do, when the vote rich Eastern provinces actually decide who is going to govern!

[cowdog]

Now most of you aren’t stupid and if you can put the ideologies and rhetoric aside long enough to see that the 3 answer question is a debacle. It has been condemned by every non-ideology funded farm group in the county, why?
If you vote for export barley to remain the domain of the CWB that is what you get, the status quo.
If you vote against that or vote for dual marketing your vote will be counted the same way; for dual marketing.
Given the choice of yes, no or the middle of the road, [maybe]; a lot of people will choose maybe, thus dual marketing.
And will there be dual marketing? No, the CWB will not place its self in a situation where it must compete for the same grain with the transactional in the export market. Without the guarantee of a supply to meet contacts it would be suicide. Barley will be dropped and so will the CWB Cash Advances, and I’m sure that will make no difference to any of you. You will just have to market your barley sooner into a market glutted by other farmer’s grain. Don’t believe me? How much Advance do you now get on oats?
What will the barley market look like? The feed barley market other than having a very depressed harvest market will change very little, after all the highest world price has traditionally been Lethbridge. There are other factors that will come in to play for feed barley, such as the switch of the Canadian brewers from using CWB malt to feed grade barley so, we all can drink crappy American Beer, after all Americans own most of the industry. It will be the malt grower who will suffer the most from the lose of CWB marketing; you only have to look across the line to see this, a 10 cent premium for malt.
A further market distortion may also, show up. This being the switch from barley to wheat by those other farmers, not you guys, so they can get cash advances to pay their fertilizer and chemical bills in the fall.
Now we got a glut of wheat to feed the massive ethanol plants being built here to take advantage of the proximity to natural gas reserves. A glut of wheat that will be the CWB’s fault, too. Maybe then we will have to ask the same 3 questions about wheat.
As for this peasant I think I shall sub-divide my land, put luxury home’s on it, sell them to those rich Coalbed Methane C#$% S*&^%rs then take my money and get the hell out of Dodge.

[cowman]

Well I don't think the government was saying they would end the CWB or the cash advance for CWB grain? They do talk about a "new CWB" that would still be operating?
I suspect Burbot is probably right? I think there will be an election sooner than later and I doubt the Harper government will get back in? If Dion and the Liberals get back in, that is the end of the debate?
The CWB will have to adapt, one way or the other? The world is changing and a whole new pattern is coming into being? Farmers will be voting with their seed drills this spring! It is going to be a very "yellow" country!

[cowman]

ps...cowdog...if you figure out how to get Ag B subdivided give me a heads up!
Let me know who you slipped the bribe to!

[FarmRanger]

cowdog, You can get cash advance on non-board grains now, I doubt if that will change.

Check out the real difference in price spreads between montana malt and feed compared to ours. There is a larger malt premium south of the border, certainly not 10 cents.

Couldn't farmers sign up for a CWB contract at the beginning of the year if they want to pool? Just make it so that after a deadline, its too late to either opt in or out. Wouldn't that keep grain going to the CWB especially if you assume that the people who vote for a single desk would continue to contract with them?

[FarmRanger]

website for barley price comparison:

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agc6756/$FILE/us-canadabarleypricespreads.pdf