Why do you need a single desk to advocate?

[furrowtickler]

HTF gets shares in the wheat board???? Not that they would be worthwhile anyway.

[charliep]

Actually won't laugh at having CWB shares in the future. With the demise of government guarantees, the CWB will require some type of equity/contingency fund. It will be interesting the goverance and ownership structure that accompanies this. Perhaps also the accountability.

[FarmRanger]

Yikes Charlie, what a nightmare that would be. An entity which has the ability to create whatever ROI they deem appropriate, off the backs of a legislated captive supplier.

My crop rotation would get pushed beyond the breaking point trying to avoid supplying product to that kind of Frankensteins monster.

[charliep]

Only commenting that a CWB without government guarantees will be different than today. Perhaps a CWB with equity and shareholder responsibility will be more accountable to its core activity - marketing grain and less to its hobby - advocating on behalf of farmers.

Grain companies have to perform on two fronts - provide an adequate return on investment for shareholders and provide high quality service to their farmers who make the business decision to patronize the services of that company. A grain company that doesn't perform on both these fronts doesn't exist for long. Advocacy doesn't pay very well/isn't done unless something that impacts the bottom line of the company and from there usually occurs behind closed doors out of the glare of the media.

[charliep]

A gentle reminder the CWB doesn't own any grain handling facilities in the country or at port. Grain companies are paid well for the services they provide the CWB and by extension you. They also have limited to no risk on CWB grains - just provide services which they are paid.

[bucket]

Once you take away the government guarantees and the cwb looks for outside financing (farmer or otherwise), you have effectively created another grain company. But one that can not compete because it has no facilities other than that special arrangement with Adrian/mission terminal.

The sooner they are gone the better. I can take my business/grain to PH, viterra, cargill, Patterson, pioneer, adm, conagra,ldm etc. And probably have better conversation than with a cwb fbr and make more money.

[charliep]

Just curious what the response would be if you asked the CWB director candidates what there vision and strategic direction would be for a CWB without government guarantees.

Would it be highlighting how bad the current federal government is (keeping in mind it was the previous government of the day that put government guarantees on the WTO table) and from there lobbying the government to change the position/retain.

Or providing a vision for a different type of CWB that can survive in this new world.

[bucket]

I asked Oberg the othe day why durum initials were not set as high as off board prices or at least as high as last years initials.

He said " this years prices are better".

I asked him to prove that and he directed me to the PRO's. I told him the pro's mean nothing because in 3 months the cwb might be lowering them as they did last year.

The cwb has no vision. Period.

They could not see the durum crop was pooched from the start this year and thats with a director from the major durum growing area sitting on the board. Larry Hill was the chair and has farmed longer than I have and could not realize that seeding durum in late may/june was not going to turn out well. And could he not see the durum going into the off board market?

Absolute incompetence.

[jdepape]

bucket:

Could you drop me a line at cwb@depape.ca with your phone number - if you don't mind me knowing your true identity.

You've piqued my interest on a couple of things - I've got a couple of questions.

If you don't mind.

[btjadenlepp]

This is a great article. There is no
correlation between operating a single
desk and being a good producer advocate.

I also think a lot of money, time and
energy gets waste with so many different
crop groups with varying approaches
working in isolation. Producers, who
they are all working on behalf of, grow
a mix of crops every season that cross
the commodity classes.

So it only seems like common sense to me
that one organization lobbying for all
Prairie grain, oilseed, pulse and
special crops at the same time would be
the most effective. Like what Ontario
did.

www.farmlinksolutions.ca