From the office of Ag and Wheat Board Minister Chuck Strahl, “regarding the inclusion of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) under the Access to Information Act as proposed in Bill C-2, The Federal Accountability Act.”
“Canada’s New Government is seeking greater openness and accountability by bringing bodies such as CWB under the Access to Information Act. The administrative costs of the CWB now amount to almost $70 million annually, and farmers should have a way of scrutinizing those costs.
“Bringing the CWB under the Access to Information Act will not require it to release commercially sensitive information. The Access to Information Act protects information that is commercially sensitive.
“The Deputy Information Commissioner confirmed this in his testimony to a Senate Committee last week, yet the CWB demands to know the reason behind any information request.”
In the interest of fairness, I decided to check out the CWB side of this. As it turns out, Wheat Board Chairman Ken Ritter testified (pdf) before the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on Sept. 20. I didn’t get very far before something caught my eye;
The CWB has requested the opportunity to meet with the Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs to discuss the Access to Information provisions of the Federal Accountablility Act and specifically, the amendment that has added our organization to the list of entities designated as “Other Government Agencies” that are subject to the Access to Information Act.
Simply stated, our position is that the CWB does not belong on this list. The reasons for this position are numerous. First of all, the CWB is no longer a government agency. In 1998, the structure of the CWB was changed so that it would be governed by an independent board where 10 of its 15 directors are elected by farmers. I have been chair of that board since its inception. The act that created the new CWB specifically states that it is neither an agent of the Crown nor a crown corporation. The CWB is accountable to the farmers of Western Canada who sell their grain through the CWB. Those farmers, not the taxparyers of Canada, pay the corporation’s operating costs. We do not possess government information nor is our information under the control of the Government of Canada.
You see, just three days ago I happened to write a post directing readers to a different document – a statement of defense by the CWB, on a case before the Federal Court (Renova Holdings Ltd. et al. v. The Canadian Wheat Board);
[3] The Defendants seek to strike out the Statement of Claim on the basis that the Board is accountable only to Parliament and that neither the Board nor the Crown owe any duty to or are accountable to the Plaintiffs as producers of wheat.
One presumes the CWB chairman is held responsible for the content of legal documents presented by the Wheat Board to the courts. One also presumes he was under some sort of obligation to be truthful when he testified before the Senate Committee.
So, Mr. Ritter, which is it? Is the Canadian Wheat Board accountable to Parliament or to farmers? Or, as some are beginning to wonder – would you prefer it be neither?
Update – I’ve been very busy today, so no updates – but as usual, there is excellent discussion in the comments, along with a number of other source links on the CWB.
Lorne,
Are we supposed to be impressed with your connection to CWB execs?
When sudo government agencies are left to their own devices with out in-depth review for decades it rots from the inside out. It does not matter who is in power. If the CWB and the Liberals having nothing to hide let the books be open completely and and all speculation will be dispelled. It is ridiculous for you to write here that there is no reason for speculating that serious fraud might exist given the crap the AG has uncovered almost everywhere she looks. You act like a typical Liberal rationalizing corruption and trying to sweep it under the carpet. Any party that governs too long becomes corrupt and in this country it was the Liberals.
On top of this I couldn’t give a rats rear whether you were from the left or right it has to do with freedom of choice and the right to know so get off your ego’s high horse.
In Defense of Lorne…
From my discussions with Lorne on other threads, he seems like a very decent fellow, that happens to disgree with me on aspects of the CWB.
He is a larger farmer who happens to be able to survive and prosper under the present CWB format. I work in the ag industry with producers every day, and anyone who is still farming today, regardless of political stripe, is a good manager, and deserves to be heard.
A factual debate on the future of the CWB, with each side presenting its best case, and agreeing to meet somewhere in the middle is what is deperately needed. Refusing to admit the the left or the right has that right to be heard is counterproductive.
That being said, pointing out the inconsistancies such as our host Kate showed this morning, certainly helps my side of the debate.
I don’t think we will ever find 200 dollar pizzas at the CWB when the books are opened. But we will probably find that there were many years where our wheat was sold?? as a foreign policy matter that had nothing to do with the world market at the time. We will find that some countries never actually paid for their shipments etc. I also believe that we may find that the so called price advantage with the CWB was simply not there when compared to the world market.
To me the central question of this debate still is.. Do I own my wheat? Or do I grow it “collectively”
Beever that is the bottom line on this. If its mine, its MINE. If I want to sell it to the CWB, fine. If I want to sell it to someone in Montana, fine. If I want it to sit and rot, fine. But to force me to sell it anyone is a communist travisty that only Castro or other like minded scum would support.
How does that old saying go? Give me LIBERTY or give me death.
How does forcing my neighbor to sell HIS goods to who I say = freedom? To me it equals communism. Go ask all those cubans that float on garbage every year the 75 miles to Florida what they think of communism.
FREE
I am inspired by the high level of debate. Lets see you ask me about my boyfriends, call me unfounded derogatory remarks and haven’t added anything to the discussion but vehemous drivel.
Albertaman get out of the gutter. I am not nor have I ever voted liberal. I mentioned the CWB execs because when you know people that run an organization and have a high degree of respect for them, you give them the benefit of the doubt. I previously posted that I too think the AG should have a look, but because I know these guys I doubt that you will find $200 pizzas or untendered contracts. These guys are Saskatchewan farm boys who are about the sharpest individuals I know. They know what they are doing and are doing all they can to maximize farmer revenue.
I mean this with all due respect, It is very important that if you are anti-CWB that you look very closely at what you are asking for. Once a change has been made there is no returning. Larry Weber talks about the price in Montana, and there will be farmers that will sell into the US. These farmers will only be 100 miles or less from the border. There will be significant freight costs as you can only haul 28 mt on a super bee and if it starts to affect an American farmer’s delivery opportunity or price, the border will be closed.
I know I am being preachy, but I am because I know what the alternative is. It pisses me off that people spew without any knowledge of the system, and what they asking for.
And these wingnuts want their own country? It appears that outright, open warfare has now broken out between Hamas and Fattah, with running gunfights in the street. I can only wonder how they’ll try to spin this so it’s the “Joo’s” fault…
Lorne,
With respect, Do I own my wheat? Or do I grow it “collectively”. Do I have the right to do as I see fit with my property?
If yes, then there must be voluntary particpation in the CWB. The mechanics of that voluntary participation will be the subject of much negotiation I sure.
If no, then this country is in great peril.
And one more thing, Yes.. but.. is not an acceptable answer.
You ask very important questions about accessing the US market etc., that certainly need to be well discussed and addressed in the future CWB. Those are questions that the voluntary CWB proponents such as myself need to provide suitable answers for.
But you need to answer the question of why I cannot sell my wheat to whoever I wish, because if I can’t, then we certainly do not live in “the true north strong and free”. What hypocrites we are!
Lorne,
Do you not see what you are saying. The system you espouse is denying the freedom from those that do not want to be a part of it. The rationalization you use is flawed as it says we oppress your rights because “we” know better. If the system were so wonderful why does Quebec and Ontario farmers opt in. The arrogance of your position is undeniable. I deny those who do not agree with the system to be less than me because “we smart people” know better and we will sacrifice their freedom for “our” collective good. Unbelievable, deny others their freedom to choose and you tell me to get out of the gutter.
Good God.
Lorne:
Ken Beswick (a former CWB Commisioner) told me that the CWB sold 1/3 of wheat sales above the market; 1/3 at the market and 1/3 below the market. Net result = ZERO. BUT he also stated that the premium on 1/3 would disappear and that farmers were not ready to market their own wheat so he was content to leave it the way it was….
That was 10 years ago – so where do u draw a line in the sand?
Not so on barley …and u know the story…he left because it was costing farmers 155 million a year in 1995. And today the CWB says the advantage the CWB advantage is 55 million. So someone is full of @hit.
My money is with someone who has the balls to leave over right and wrong.
If i was the CWB i would be laying my cards down real quick – if they really have two aces. The longer they wait – the less likely they have them. 3 months ago, if they would have they could have saved Measner.
Too late for Measner. And if they don’t do it soon, it will be too late for your bud, Ward too.
Keep poking this govt in the eye with a hot rod and you will see who Ritter is accountable to. It didnt have to be like this.
But REG left it in a mess.
Western grain Marketing panel said lets try barley in 1995.
Standing Committe on Ag said lets try barley in 2003.
For 13 years the right side received dick from REG as REG tried to reach consensus. He didn’t like the results from his own panel and choose to ignore the contentious issues. Consensus is for the weak.
_______________________________________________
To me, consensus seems to be the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies. So it is something in which no one believes and to which no one objects.
Margaret Thatcher
_______________________________________________
Last comment for me.
Beever talks about sales that were made in the past for foreign policy reasons. I agree that there probably are such sales. We have many billions of dollars outstanding from past sales. The farmers were paid then and now the taxpayer is guaranteeing the debt. The CWB charges interest over and above their cost and a net $60,000,000 goes to farmers each year.
In the US they are more blatant than that, they call it food aid. Many millions, if not billions of dollars of grain sales are made each year. So is is humanitarian aid or an ag subsidy? Also the Americans don’t have a completely free and open market as the loan rate serves as a floor price. It would be kinda handy to know before seeding time what the minimum price will be for your commodity, don’t you think? Also if there is no market for your grain, no problem sell it to the government at the loan rate and you never need to carryover grain.
People get high and mighty about the freedom and right part of the debate. You can look at every facet of business and there is regulation. If you have an employee (non-farm business) you don’t fire them at will, you don’t ignore OHS regulations. There is regulation in every aspect of life and this is no different.
Lastly, if you were free to sell to whomever you want, who would you sell it to? Your delivery points are the same. Each one of us are free to grow whatever grain we wish. That is your freedom. You can choose to grow all feed barley if you wish and sell it into the highest priced market in the world, which is centered in Lethbridge. Honestly, I don’t see how things would differ from today for the vast majority of farmers except they would receive the full price upon delivery and have more flexibility on when they deliver. Both of these are or are being addressed by changes to the CWB.
Have a good day.
SDC, who is Codere and dion rooting for.
US Barley: “Growers are reporting 2007 malt contract prices in the range of $3.20 to $3.70 per bushel,” (CAD$3.70 to $4.27) Edwardson reported. “Growers in corn production areas will be carefully evaluating all of their options as they implement their cropping plans for 2007.” A check of elevator board prices on the website smallgrains.org, showed both feed and malting barley prices advanced in almost all locations during the last two weeks. Feed barley prices advanced any where from a dime to 56 cents a bushel and were in a range of $2.40 to $3.10 a bushel (CAD$2.75 to $3.57). Malting barley prices inched upward with increases from a dime to quarter. Trading was in a 50 cent range with bookends of $3.00 ($3.46) and $3.50 ($4.04) on the high side.
“These guys are Saskatchewan farm boys who are about the sharpest individuals I know. They know what they are doing and are doing all they can to maximize farmer revenue.”
Sounds of crickets chirping.
Sorry I thought I was done.
Larry I actually agree on with you on Barley because so little of what we grow is exported and that we can malt a fairly high percentage of what can be malted. Malt forms as little as 5% and as much as 35% of my acres. There is big storage risk, even with low moisture grain, environmental conditions wreak havoc with germ.
I expect by the time this debate is done several will have fallen on the sword.
Albertaman, the reason Quebec, Ontario etc. don’t opt in is because they don’t produce a significant amount for export. They consume most of what they produce. Their sales tend to go directly to an end user.
When you look at it Albertaman there are many examples of regulations that restrict freedom, such as the licensing process that you need to go through to bringup Clearout. It seems that they are trying to close loophole and put further restrictions on the movement of product.
lorne said
Lastly, if you were free to sell to whomever you want, who would you sell it to?
Not the commie CWB, thats for sure.
Lorne,
There is regulation in every area of life in a free and democratic society. But those regulations cannot infringe on some basic rights that we as a society embrace. Even though PET did not enshrine property rights in our constitution, as a society, most of still agree with the right to own property, and to dispose of it as we wish.
Henry Ford once said that “You can have any colour you want, as long as it’s black”. This debate is very similar. You can grow as much wheat as you want as long as you market it through the CWB. Henry was proved wrong, and in time so will the compulsory CWB.
Lorne:
Check the last Standing Committee Minutes on Pesticides.
James Bezan’s motion.
My understanding of GROU is that you need to import exactly the same product that is available in Canada IE. Roundup must have the same trade name as in Canada.
2,4-D was half the price on an equivalency basis in Montana but tradenames were different, … so I don’t know. If it is effective at leveling out prices then great.
Its important to understand the nature of the beast. Under the CWB Act, the CWB is to market wheat and barley (grain) grown in the prairies, and to regulate the shipping and handling of prairie grain. This is well known by most.
However, what is not known, is that the so-called monopoly part of the CWB Act,(Part IV)applies equally to all Canada, and requires all exporters to have an export licence. The difference is in the Winnipeg bureaucrats policy. If you live in the East, licence granted – but if you are a prairie farmer, licence absolutely denied. Western farmers then can only sell to the CWB.
Part IV licencing duties for the government is separate from the CWB’s marketing duties in the designated area. Our problem is that we have been lied to for so many years that now CWB lies are accepted and repeated as facts.
Exactly what was said in my rant John:
Otto said the CROW had become sacred. So much so that people forgot where it came from and what it represented. Media can do that. Organizations with ulterior motives can do that. And today when Wayne Easter stands with the Leader of the Opposition and the President of the CWB, everyone forgets what he did to the western economy. For the majority of farmers, it is like nothing happened and all is forgotten.
“To not know what happened before you is to remain a child forever.”
— Marcus Tullius Cicero
Just curious- how come I see no mention of this in the msm?
Lorne Your rationionalizations are lame at best. You comparing the environmental regulation of a chemical to the restrictions imposed on others by those who do not beleive they are capable enough to marketing their own product. In other words you are restricting freedom of thought here not a potentially harmfull chemical.
Also your assertion that Ontario farmers don’t export their grain is hogwash. The following is and excerpt from the Prairie Center Policy Institute web site.
“Ken Dillen observed and documented the entire process which included traveling with the trucks through the border crossing at Windsor, Ontario to Detroit, Michigan and the delivery with a super B and tri-axle hopper bottom to the Jiffy Pancake Flour Mill at Chelsea, Michigan.
Mr. Gorski was paid in full the next day. He received $3.85 US per bushel (about $5.80 Cdn.).
The export license is then faxed to Canada Customs. It is not required to be “surrendered to the chief officer of Customs” as demanded by the Customs Act. This provision is only required at border crossings in the three prairie provinces.
Ontario wheat farmers have a number of options available to them for marketing their grain. They can either sell into the pool and wait a year for a final payment, contract with the Ontario Wheat Board at a fixed price and be paid in full at the conclusion of a sale, or market direct. The latter two options are not available to western farmers. For exercising those same rights in Western Canada, farmers have been jailed, taken to court, and have been placed in leg irons, hand-cuffs and chains.”
The CW is hell bent on squeezing out smaller farmers. If you have a big place it works to your advantage because your quota is bigger and assets are ‘pooled’ – the little guy pays the same amount for pooling his product but he has a much smaller amount to pool.
Lorne: a poster on a previous thread here, from Ont. said she grows wheat in Ont. but does not sell it to the Roger’s flour mill just down the street from her because the CW sells Roger’s flour at such rock bottom prices that she could not afford to sell her wheat to the mill down the street. Were you yapping about ‘value added” – for whom, Lorne?
Your honest Sask farm boys rant – sorry Lorne, I lived there. You better know somebody if you want to get your cattle on the PFRA and you better know somebody in the WB if you want to sell your wheat. One ‘honest’ Sask farmboy we knew tried to steal our lease. My uncles had bought some Welsh ponies and they gave them to my brothers and I to ride. The ponies and the foals of the ponies were of great concern to that honest Sask farm boy (whose dad had been bailed out by my Granddad in the Dirty Thirties) and he reported that he had seen the ponies grazing in our lease. You cannot allow animals you do not own to graze on lease land. My Dad and my Great Uncle had to make a midnight trip to Regina so Dad could buy the ponies on paper so he could keep his lease. I wonder if that honest Sask farm boy has a new job? Sounds like his ilk is working for the WB, IMHO.
From the Hon. Charlie Mayer:
“There has to be some middle ground to throwing farmers in jail to what we have today.”
What is the middle ground?
Larry
You have mentioned the middle ground quote before. I assume this is the dual market with CWB II.
OK, You have my attention. Tell me how you see that working.
With respect to the authours of CWB II, it is juvenille.
A slow methodical approach was the right answer 10 years ago..not anymore. We are out of time.
August 01, 2008: 1 million metric tonnes wheat open. No one entity can have more than 50,000 MT. I am hoping that farmers take 500,000 and grain companies take 500,000. Baby steps.
Year 2: 2 million tonnes. same breakdown.
CWB issues FREE permits to organic farmers. They have their frikkin customer lists after years of buy backs – get out of their face.
August 01, 2007: Barley wide open.
1 MMT of wheat is peanuts. World trade is 110 MMT. If 1 MMT is going to break the CWB, they really didnt have all that strength to begin with.
I do not concur with a vote. The farming community is fractured, divided and wounded. It would make it worse.
This is not Rhodes Scholar material – this is somewhat the Ontario model…
I keep hearing that the sky will fall if we have no wheat board. Pulease…When the barley was taken from the board in the 80’s exports increased 900%. 900! It doesn’t matter how you hold your mouth, or how you turn your head, or WHAT you may believe in, the number is staggering.
There is more secrecy than the JFK files, yet people just keep on believing they are getting the truth. C’mon, if the truth was so darn good they would be shouting their deeds from the mountain tops, instead of hiding behind a wall of silence.
..and yes I know, other companies don’t tell people their business. That of course may be so, but they don’t take our production by legislation either. We don’t HAVE to deliver to them if we don’t like the way they do business. Also, if Cargill misses the shipment with a trainload of canola, we are not stuck with the bill. Wheat Board scrubs a sale or misses a boat, who pays? The farmer, again.
There is talk of a vote. Was there a vote when the Board came into being? Right. It was crammed down farmers’ throats as a price control for the war effort. Noble enough at the time, but it is STILL HERE, and yep, it is still controlling prices.
Someone asked why other parts of the country are not busting down the door to get in. The answer is so so obvious. They don’t want the price they are getting to be artificially suffocated by a control based government institution. Ask any farmer in Ontario right now what they are getting for durum. Go ahead, ask. You simply will not believe it. Of course they remain quiet about the whole issue, they don’t want to mess with their status quo.
Let’s not forget what the Board does to value added industry in the West as well. It kills it. Can’t mill anything because the grain has to be bought back from the Board. There can be durum grown 20 feet from the plant, doesn’t matter, still has to go through the Board.
What are farmers making money with these days. Feed barley, oats, and canola. Hmmm…..yep, all off board. go figure,
Davie, most main stream media support the CWB and the truth is an enemy of the CWB. But I think the primary reason is that the fraud was started in 1947 and perpetuated ever since. For example, I have a document written by a Winnipeg lawyer in 1947 stating his opinion that the newly added Part IV entrenched the Wartime monopoly. Confidential internal government documents contradict him, but no one saw them till years later.
About the only sanity on this issue came from the Supreme Court in 1974 in CWB v. Sommerville when they stated that the Act does not purport to give unlimited monopoly powers to the CWB in the designated area.
As to a middle ground on the issue, there can only be one compomise – the CWB must stop lying and stealing farmer’s grain.
An old farmer rancher here in Alberta who had to deal with the wheat board all his life, called his old Sask. and Manitoba buddies to come out to Alberta for a visit, talk about their college days, swill a bit and discuss this commie organization. Well he soon found out his old college farmer friends were fans of the wheat board, and after many heated arguments he decided to diffuse the situation and offered each old boy a horse to ride across the hills and enjoy the outdoors here in Alberta. As the three of them rode along talking about everything but the wheat board, they came across the neighbors sheep with its head stuck through the page wire fence. The old Alberta boy thought for a while, wifes been dead for years, what the hell, he jumped down dropped his drawers and gave it to that sheep. When he was done he jumped back on his horse, looked at the old prarie buds and said “your turn” . With that the two old boys from Sask and Man. cussed a bit, jumped off their horses, dropped their pants, and stuck their heads through the page wire fence. Bend over and enjoy Sask and Manitoba farmers that like the wheat board, you ndp assholes
Jema54
I think growing wheat on $5,000 per acre land has got to be tough to compete on the world market no matter what the yield.
Larry
You said Ken Beswick talked about the CWB marketings being the three thirds. Assuming Year 1 and Year 2 marketings find their way to the US, UK or Japan any guess which third those sales would normally land in and the impact on the average price in the CWB pricing pool?
this all brings to my mind a scene from some toned down canadian version of ‘fargo’ or something. lots of intrigue and farce but none of the extreme bloodshed.
The CWB has been shielded by the Lie-beral’s from the scrutiny of the Auditor General for far too long, what have they (Lie-beral’s) been hiding? I bet it’s as serious in a criminal sense, but less dollars than the NINE BILLION DOLLARS that the Lie-beral’s sent to the, so called, Private Foundations! Let us see that audited, shall we?
Hang on a minute, Farmers. You are digging yourself a hole here.
A very, very big wheel Business-man in Winnipeg told me a few months back,
” Prairie Grain Farming has got to be one of the worst businesses to be in.” Why ??
Harsh climate, horendous freight rates(especially after crow died because of WCWGA), no political clout, Subsidy wars, CWB indeference, Grain trade unscruples, ..
Holy smokes, you would think that would be enough to kill the cat. It is. But by begging and getting WGSF, GRIP, AIDA, CFIP, get-a-GRIP, .. can live to see another day(year).
The sad part is that some, not many, some seem to think the grain industry is a market driven business in this old world. It is NOT. Not even in USDA land.
To top it off there is this. Throught history, about the only money Farmers end up with is due to the investment in their land. Today Framers rent instead of buying the dirt, thereby forgoing the only wealth generating chance they had. What is wrong with you guys.
As the big wheel business man said, “well, for starters, most of the farm boys got their learning at the ag schools. Professors, ya know. Says it all. Most of them were flunkies at one time or other in their lives.
And then I see you guys barking and barking up trees. CWB no doubt is a problem but it cannot be the whole problem, only two of many crops are under the CWB thumb.
maybe there are only two of many crops under the control of the wheat board in western canada, but in the rest of canada those two crops are under no ones control except the producer.
if the wheat board is so bloody good, why don’t eastern farmers fall under its control ?
CWB, just another way to control western farmers so they don’t get accustomed to a free market economy without all of the CWB B.S.
Lorne said: “These guys are Saskatchewan farm boys who are about the sharpest individuals I know.”
Hey Lorne, I heard the two smartest people in Saskatchewan recently moved to Alberta – lowered the median IQ of both provinces.
The bizarre world of the CWB continues. In today’s National Post editorial it said that the CWB has letters of support on its web site from its CUSTOMERS!!!
The article says :”the “letters of concern.” They come from representatives of buyers like COFCO, the largest Chinese state grain purchaser, andWarburtons, a major English-based seller of baked goods in Europe. All express great personal admiration for Mr. Measner and convey the fond hope that Canadian wheat will continue to be sold to the world through a single exporter.”
Now it may just be me but letters from your buyers supporting a single desk really is strong evidence to the contrary and that the monopoly should end.
I don’t blame the buyers for writing the letters of support because I too love salesmen that bendover when they see me comming.
when the Crow Rate went it was to be a new beginning for western canada…so what went wrong? I’ll tell you: the CWB maintained it’s total control over the wheat and barley industry…Farmers still had/have to deliver their grain to the CWB through the grain companies that had/have their elevators on rail lines…We weren’t able to set up value added industries to process the grain into more valuable products. So we had/have the high cost of transportation, elevation, and storage without any additional benefits we were promised when the crow went…
Farmers have moved away from growing wheat and barley, why? Because of the CWB…the main reason is what we are seeing today…The only place on earth where grain prices aren’t spiking is in Western Canada….what is the common theme THE CWB…
It has been mentioned before but I think it is worth asking again…If the CWB is doing such a wonderful job why don’t the eastern farmers want in…is it because they can decide When and Where and how Much grain they sell…The Most importanted thing is they get to decide the Price they will sell their grain for. WESTERN CANADIAN farmers DON’T have those options, we’re told by the CWB if we sign a contract.
A CWB contract is all one sided..we offer X number of bushels for sale. the CWB then decides how much of that grain they will accept, (if any) at what price they will pay(the price isn’t known until later at least 18 months) and it will be delivered when they say…and once signed the farmer must live with the CWB’s wishes…If the farmer doesn’t deliver the grain he is subject to being charged for non compliance.(fined)
The CWB says it is changing, coming up with new ways for the farmer to get more money faster from the market..after almost 60 years they have decided to start making changes now…Why? Is it because the CWB isn’t working…too little, too late
The CWB isn’t working for the Western farmer, they are working for their own fancy ass jobs. A TRUE Canadian Gov’t Department…
Albertaman: How True, the brain thrust at the CWB must think we really like taking it up the wahzoo… now add insult to injury…stay bent over western farmers
Northernfarmer,
I am not a farmer but if I were I would be choking over the CWB and farmers like Lorne who see now wrong in denying farmers like you a basic freedom.
The CWB will die soon but not soon enough.
sorry was busy most of the day and didnt hav time to look here:
Lorne – 19 minutes …and you didnt think outside the box – you more than anyone shd be able to capitalize on shipping containerized wheat to your customers.
Impact – unchartered territory. Soon see if there was market power or not.
Best,
LW
IP grains are going to be big in the future, but I think moving wheat 20 tonne at a time is like moving a mountain of dirt with a teaspoon.
ISO standards and HACCP are going to have to be relied upon to IP 50 and 100 car shipments.
Larry, I really think at the end of the day our thoughts aren’t as wide apart as some might think. I agree with what Ken Beswick said about the thirds of grain marketing. So if there is no pooling that means we will likely grow one-third less wheat… those acres move to what … Pulses and Oilseeds which are my bread and butter.
Ask a Major Investment-Manager what is one of the most important aspects of any industry/busines that they look for. At the top will be Pricing Power.
If, when wanting an investor you;
Tell the Manager that you are in a business that has thousands and thousands of sellers running off in all directions trying to sell to a few major buyers and he will, … TURN WHITE.
Tell him/her you sell through a govmit agency with possible connections to CSL,.. WHITE.
Tell him you believe you can operate independently in an opened market when the whole world, including the USDA, operates by govmit direction, …. WHITE.
The Manager prefers Business that have Pricing Power such as; very few sellers, high technology, patent protection, govmit barriers to entry(supply management), political power, marketing discipline.
Grain Farmers on the Canadian prairies have absolutely none of the above. I would suggest your only stength is to work the market price CYCLES to your own advantage.
Have lotsa storage(2 years worth would be nice)
Do not freely disclose your inventory #s.
Do not listen to so-called ‘experts'(most of the
time they are, or are like, University professor-flunkies.)
Do not show your hand by signing DDs, Production Contracts, Basis Contracts, ect.
Most crop years have at least a few weeks of profitable prices. Remember, the best prices are usually out there when the Farmers bins are empty. $11 Canola ?? ah, I guess I’ll start my auger and nail the paper-longs with about a 100,000 bu.
You guys are producing the most, THE MOST important item in the world, BAR NONE. You operate $million+ operations and do it like no one else can. But you will probably never have the most important element, Pricing Power.
I’m just wondering, if lorne’s 7000 acres are seeded to board grain, or is he diversified? If he is diversified then he is a hypocryte.
He has to grow other crops, no one can survive just growing Board Grains…
The only place in the free world where wheat and barley prices aren’t spiking..”Western Canada”
WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY?