a vision of the cwb

[bucket]

Currently the cwb is in the process of building old style handling facilities.

Here is my idea of what they could do.

1. Look at the process flow of a potash plant.

2. They should be looking at niche markets they ignored for years. The container market is a good example.

3. Buy grain 24/7. Clean it. Market it in bags if they have to.

4. Trade mark their strengths they promoted for years about Canadian grain.

5. Storage facilities shouldn't look like they do. They have to look at suggestion 1.

6. They should be buying grain with contracts for 2016 using an advance program. Ensures handling the grain.

7.They should be looking at spurs that only have 1 grainco on it and finding a way to put a footprint on it.

8. Maybe building a partnership with someone like alliance/saskcan for logistics on the smaller lots.

9.They have to rethink the grain business unless their goal is to have tea with the families.

[westernvicki]

Nice list, exactly.

or they could give one company a very good deal.

[Tandem007]

Still can't believe the naive people on here. Do you actually believe the cwb will be your friend once they become a real grain company, remember this is an organization that for years controlled our wheat and durum movement but never once unloaded a truck, ran a cleaner, loaded rail cars, unloaded grain at port, etc etc. the only thing they did was completely brainwash generations into thinking they were relevant and they also screwd up the overall canadian grain system.

The issues of this past year wouldn't have been any different if cwb would have been around. We would have still grown 75 million tones of grain, it would have still turned -40 on Nov 15, the grain still wouldn't have moved.

The Board would have accepted 50% of the wheat and durum last yeR thus enabling us that contacted grain at high prices to miss out on selling all our grain WHEN we want to.

And for that I'm thankful the cwb is gone and will never be back. Happy Thanksgiving and good luck to those in areas not complete with harvest yet.

[Hopalong]

Politicians fell for the line that farmers wanted a farmer owned and controlled board.
May have been true at one time but not any more, at least by those twenty per cent of the farmers who grow eighty per cent of the grain.
These growers are astute business people or else they would not have got to where they are.
Most are fully competent to deal with grain companies on their own and do not want the extra regulation and trade barriers associated with the CWB.

[bucket]

My idea was to make a competetive grain company.

They just squandered a billion dollars for what?????

The current graincos don't want to work 8 hours let alone 24.

Sometime take a tour through the belle plaine mine and see what could of been. The processes are similar, there was something to be learned there instead of building an 8 hour concrete.

[farmaholic]

One of our locals are doing 12 hours/day and shorter days Saturday.

[Oliver88]

Bucket, have you contacted a CWB rep and gone through your ideas with them? What did they say?

Does anyone know if there will be trucking incentives for their new sites?

[MBgrower]

Lets not bash grain co front line staff. I know many who work long hours on the ag input side of business. And lets not forget the staff that have to load unit trains in the middle of the night.

[bgmb]

Cp was pulling a train sunday night at 8pm thanksgiving evening. Cant say they arent working for their pay cheque

[bucket]

oliver88

I was told by the guy in charge of the build that he had 30 plus years in building elevators.

And I asked for condo space. Was told that it was cheaper for farmers to build it on farm. I said farmers are building it either way.


I asked about a two drive way system and they said they didn't need it. They could schedule deliveries.

So basically I was told to **** off by the higher ups.


Some way to gain farmer support.

[bucket]

My intentions was not to complain about the local guys they work hard, I get that.

My point was this grain handling system is far from being efficient. No new facilities are required if some places would stay open longer and they got regular rail service.

And I find it odd that geting a train loaded at all hours is more important than farmer deliveries.

The point with the new cwb is they could have been a real contender with some different thought process and attitude. I haven't seen it. SO the wards and Gords have run it into the ground by not thinking outside of the box, The same reason they got to this point in the first place.

[Hopalong]

Something like railways, old Air Canada and prairie pools.
Employees started to think customers were there to serve them rather than other way around.
As long as grain companies don't go too far toward monopoly type behaviour, am willing to support present ones with our business.

[grassfarmer]

"As long as grain companies don't go too far toward monopoly type behaviour"
LOL, if you can't see they have after 100 plus years maybe google "Stockholm syndrome".

[bucket]

If you get a chance go through Viterra's Moose Jaw facility.

9 Pits and it can still take 2 hours to dump.

And they won't change it even though they know a 42000 tonne facility is being built east of them that will be more convenient to get to.

Viterra has a year and a half lead time to make it better or they lose at least 75000 tonnes of handling or one turn of their existing facility.

Same with cargill and P&H in Moose Jaw.

Who thinks like that???

And the big money men at Viterra can't figure it out??????????

And more than likely the small farmers will be heading to the CWB facilty supporting it, if it stays in that name. More than likely it will be sold before the concretes are operational.

[Hopalong]

More than anything else, many years ago, what turned me off the CWB was the employee attitude "we know what is best for you".
The message was that I was a dumb farmer and it was impertinent of me to question the wisdom of prairie pools and other board supporters.