Question for you so called "grain brokers"

[notaredneck]

To all the John Depapps , Larry Webbers , Allan Johnstons, and all the other "grain brokers"...You have all made it quite clear what you think of the wheatboard, I would like to know what do you all personally have to gain from the demise of the wheatboard?

[Prairiefire]

Not too hard to figure out , these guys will become the new and improved marketing system of the west . Hidden costs, hidden payback and along with the deregulation of the grain trade a wild and wooly west where the guy with the biggest...... gets to have fun $$$ at the expense of the other farmers.

[charliep]

Back at you, what evidence do you have that a re-newed CWB will not survive and thrive in the new world? If farmers (ultimate decision makers in this case) choose to have the CWB as their marketing representative, why wouldn't the supply chain work to include the organization in activities. The issue will be volume and ability to provide business based services to the farm community.

[Prairiefire]

Hey did you hear that the CGC is getting its budget cut by 50% . There we go the farmers in the west will get deregulation . This will lead to more $$$ for pet political projects. The grain trade has now in place their own graders at the elavators . Thse folks are the employees of the various grain companies and do not represent an unbiased and arms length grading of our grain delivered to the elevators.In the case of a dispute who will we turn to to get a fair deal ?

[charliep]

notaredneck

Will you use the CWB in an open market setting? If your answer is it depends, then I will ask depends on what? Be specific.

[Prairiefire]

Charlie.....a CWB without grain elevators and a spout on the water is grain broker with a computer and a telephone. This brings up your budies who source grain and do not give two cents as to who or where our grain ends up.

[agstar77]

The deregulation of the grain trade will just speed up the process of large operations getting larger , because they will get a better deal. This will pave the way for more integrated operations as has happened in the pork industry, where only the integrated operators survive. I'm not saying it wouldn't have happened anyway, it will speed it up. We will all be more efficient till the last one is gone.

[charliep]

Prairiefire

Your experience is different than mine. Mine would tell me that a grain company that looks after relationships up and down the supply best and provides the value to customers is generally the most profitable one. If farmers choose to use the CWB as their marketing representative, why wouldn't the grain companies work to make this happen?

I always see comments on the CGC. As a final arbitrator of grade disputes, why the tie in between the CWB and CGC? Grading is handled for other crops without a CWB.

[bucket]

Agstar

And then what? The big operator experiment has been tried in Russia and the Ukraine. It still doesn't work. And it doesn't work here either.

The weather has shitcanned more big operators than little ones.

The equalizer will always be mother nature. The banker may come in second. I have never heard so many BTOs complaining about selling #2 lentils for 20 cents only to find their #3 worth more last year. All I said to them "you signed the contract".

[notaredneck]

Chalriep...I would use the board in an open market if it could survive. I don't think that without the single desk it can. Like pfire said without the single desk the board is just another grain company without any infrastructure to handle the grain..Do you think the Viterras or the Cargils will happily do that that for them?

[Prairiefire]

Ag star intergrated alright but not owned and profitable for the farmers . Those big pig barns all have gotten in trouble . One outfit in particular was set up so as not to be resposible for the individual barns liabilities . It went bankrupt and the people who invested in them lost their investment. The next oput outfit that bought these assets did so with so many cents on the dollar. Then low and behold they too were up to their ying yank in financial manure . The farmers who delivered grain to this large operation lost their grain and with some sort of restructuring are up and away again. Brings up due diligence...
With whom will be to make certain we get paid . One thousand tonnes of grain is not chicken feed especially if the outfit decides it does not have to pay.

[bucket]

Who does it for glencore, toepler, etc?

[dave4441]

If the board is able to create an environment that they can continue to pay the ridiculous handling charges, storage charges and out of line elevation charges, then the answer is yes. Yes the line companies will handles the grain for a new CWB. WE have to remember that currently line cos have the ability to pick weather they focus on board grains or off board grains. This will not change with the a voluntary board in place. They will still make the decision wether to handle board on non board based on their best return on investment. People just do not get the fact that what the board pays to the line cos for handle is high. THe other reality is that the line cos may get better thru put, MT per month when they do not have a clumbsy board in place. THis may mean they chose lower revenues per MT and trade the grain for their own account because they get better total revenue and charge LESS per MT.

[dave4441]

Whatever the result is, we will have a more efficent market based supply chain that will put more money in the growers pocket.

[highwayman]

One major contradiction that Mr. Oberg continues to make is that he continually spouts that the CWB is owned by farmers and run by farmers yet then readily admits that the CWB only exists because of government legislation. It seems quite clear who is in control.