Farmers making Millions and Millions of Dollars

[northfarmer]

Rod, thanks for exposing yourself for what you really are. Enjoy your spot on the board for now. You will not be be back.

It is not the job of the CWB to act as a wealth redistributor.

In our area we punted out the guy we had that was cut from the same cloth. We would have taken him out a term earlier but we had too many pro choice guys and we split up the support.

Stubhumper, I am a farmer. Many of those who post here fighting for our freedom are farmers.

I know that in my area farmers who supported the CWB are changing their colors are doing so at an alarming rate. As their management and marketing skills improve and their confidence builds by growing and marketing crops that fall out side of the control of the CWB improve (oats, peas, canola, forage seed) they less and less see value coming from their CWB.

SCREW the CWB!!!!

[chaffmeister]

Concerning malt barley, let me save you the trouble.

We’re told the CWB single desk keeps the malt premium from eroding due to farmers “bidding the price down”. (Whatever that means...) So let's look at the malt premium.

Over the last eight years in Montana, the 2-row malt barley price has been higher than the feed price by an average of $1.23/bushel (in Canadian dollars). Over the same period in Alberta, the 2-row malt price was, on average, 75 cents/bushel over the CWB’s feed barley price. Compared to the more relevant domestic feed barley market, the CWB looks even worse at only 46 cents/bushel over feed, lagging the open market in Montana by a whopping 77 cents/bushel.

Yes, but, “the CWB simply gets better prices”, you might say. Well then, let’s look at that. Over the last eight years, the annual average price for 2-row malt barley in Montana has ALWAYS been higher than the CWB’s 2-row price in Alberta – on average by 79 cents a bushel. The closest the CWB ever got was on 04/05 when it was 39 cents a bushel below the average Montana price.

In 06/07 the CWB’s 2-row malt price was 27 cents a bu BELOW the average Montana FEED price! This year (so far) they're about the same.

I could go back further if you like, but I seriously doubt the result would change.

So either way you cut it, the CWB single desk seriously under-performs the unregulated, open market of Montana. I’ll let you calculate the total dollars lost to the Western Canadian economy.

So, tell us again why the CWB should be involved in barley?

[chaffmeister]

Here’s another comparison I like.

Over the last few years, (not including 06/07 and 07/08) Alberta domestic feed barley has averaged about 17 cents above Montana feed barley.

During our brief “open market” last year (March 28 to July 31), Alberta’s price (at Red Deer) averaged 77 cents a bushel ABOVE Montana.

Since we lost the open market on July 31, Alberta’s domestic feed barley price has averaged $2.49/bu BELOW Montana’s average.

Using your kind of math, Rod, we can assume that without the CWB, our prices would have been at least the same as Montana’s. Probably more since our market was beginning to move higher in our brief open market.

On 10 million tonnes this works out to at least $1.1 BILLION lost on feed barley alone. Not because of anything specific the CWB did. Just because it was THERE.

This a rough analysis – but you get the idea.

[furrowtickler]

Tell the real story Rod! Talk net returns, not gross revenue. MOST FARMS OVER THE PAST DECADE HAVE MADE LITTLE OR SHOWED A NET LOSS WITH ALL BOARD GRAINS - PERIOD. talk net returns, yes some farmers are going to some big "gross" returns for 07-08. That farmer that will gross $1.7 mil., did you ask what his overallcost was? Probably not. Did you ask what his costs will be for '08, probably not.
Most farms have shown more years of net losses over the last 10 years. Botom line is that we need every nickle out of this crop and next year to make up for the dismal returns from board grains from the past several years - so tell the whole story - overal net returns there buddy!

[AdamSmith]

Rod, thanks for offering your defence of the cwb. I disagree big time with your belief, but at least you stated it in a reasoned way.

Just back from our winter vacation and one of the novels I read was The Bancroft Strategy by Robert Ludlum

I really encourage you to read it.

It really ties in to what Vader just wrote. This book was about a multi-billionaire philanthropist who decided to play God by employing a stategy called The Greatest Good for the Greatest Amount (of people).

For instance a scheme would be devised to deliberatly cause a plane crash killing the national soccer team from a small central American country would cause political upheaval within that country and the current corrupt president would be booted from office and a new and much more progressive president would come to power thus making the ordinary lives of hundreds of thousand of people in that country better. The Greatest Good for the Greatest Amount.

All fiction of course but to read the same mantra coming from a real life public person, just gives me the willies.

[per]

Rod with logic like that you could get a position with the Alberta Beef Producers when you tenure us up. Yikes!

[per]

I would rather not post on a topic like this, and I don't really have to, simply because all the previous posters pretty much have summed it up!!!

Rod for you to post in the fashion you just did is totally unaccetable in the position you currently are holding!! I may not get anywhere with it, but I will be phoning Winnipeg on Monday in the morning to see if this is how the Board of Directors is basing marketing decisions.

Rod how many acres you farm??? I better hope you are a large acerage farm..... If not you have made it perfectly clear in the sarcasim of your post that you have a huge chip on your shoulders to large farms. Like I said if this is the way the Board of Directors is coming to marketing decisions....They must go!!!! You have clearly shown us you do not make decisions with a unbiast opinion. Something every director should!!!! Thanks Rod for the Post!!!

P.S. Your post has already been copied and pasted to my browser.

[AdamSmith]

I've got a very serious question to ask you Rod.

And Agstar,

And any other CWB director or executive lurking here.

Is this the only way you can achieve your Greatest Good for the Greatest Amount Strategy?

Do you have to tear alot of people down in order to prop others up?

Rob Peter to pay Paul?

What you and the cwb believe is so wrong on so many levels Rod!

If you're sincere about wanting to prop up the weaker amoungst us, there are far more productive and proper ways to achieve that and none of those strategies would involve tearing other people down.

Vader and Agstar, if you are ***tioning on the premise that your mission is to prop up the farmer who would otherwise have to sell wheat for the lowest price of the year.

And you used the example of $7.00 durum, would a voluntary pool not not achieve the same thing? Oh they may or may not get $20 but the monopoly pool isn't getting them $20 either.

And just for arguments sake that the forced pool will get them $12 and a voluntary pool only gets them $11.50, they are still much better off than $7.00 right.

So I ask again, why don't you believe a voluntary pool would work for that purpose?

Or maybe you guys put a greater emphasis on tearing Saskfarmer down and tearing JRI down than anything else.


"Property is the fruit of labor...property is desirable...is a positive good in the world. That some should be rich shows that others may become rich, and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise. Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another; but let him labor diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built."
Abraham Lincoln

[Lifer]

I would also like to thank Rod for making his point.

Enough points made on freedom, property rights, net income, reponsibility for rural development already.

What I don't understand and I've heard from other central planner types in talking about "larger farms" the assumption that all larger farms are driven for more. (Rod's shot at Saskfarmer) Buy more grow more do more. It's not true.

Vader: How does this great plan with knowing what's best for everyone respect our diversity.

stubble I am a farmer and I wish I knew what ideologue meant.

[wd9]

Lifer, make sure you come to the party next week ya slacker!

Ideologue is a notebook where you write down or log your ideas so ya don't forget em.