My Conversation with John De Pape

[blackpowder]

Agstar always had a thing for John, dunno why. I can understand weariness of yet another "expert" or "consultant". The word marketing alone ticks me off.
Whatever that may be.
I have not met anyone else in 40 years who is endlessly willing to teach you the same skills used by the industry trading desks every day.

[jdepape]

jdepape - I just find it odd that the Gov't appointed auditor never picked up on that or how it was reported. Also why didn't the directors in the know or Ian himself make it public and fix it instead of just hiding the reporting?
Those kinds of things are my issue with the way it was ran and closed instead of doing their job and changing it.

Where was Ritz all this time when this was going on, he should of been on top of it, he was in charge and must or should have known what was going on. He still got paid to be Minister in charge and likely got bonuses too.

The special audit of the CWB occurred when the governance of the CWB changed from the commissioner model to the elected farmer BOD model (2002). The CWB changed their vessel load terms some time after that - around 2009.

I'm going to defend Ian here as I saw that he was in a tough spot with what could only be described as a rogue BOD and senior staff that were severely ideological. And since they had a COO (Ward Weisensel), Ian would have naturally delegated operational issues (like "load terms") to Weisensel. I could see missing the issue of making dispatch a bonus factor as well - because he likely didn't know about the expansion of "CWB load terms".

I can't speak for Ritz or any others but I can assume that he (they) were well aware of the many issues of disfunction within the CWB. From my perspective, tackling any single issue (like the dispatch story - or the others, mainly evidence of incompetence) could derail the whole process of just shutting the whole thing down.

Why fix the leaky roof when you're going to tear the whole house down anyway?

[wheatking16]

wmoebis - I told a lot of people at the time. I even blogged about it. Going to the BOD would have gotten me no where - I had absolutely no currency with the BOD (except with a couple of them who also had no currency there). But I got on with Ian White very well - he always had an open door for me and I knew he would listen. And he did.
Ignorance or corruption? Not sure really but I figure I leaned toward ignorance because there were other episodes where I confronted them - and, well yes - ignorance.

Ken Motiuk's book, Culture of Control, discusses this BOD dynamic.

[agstar77]

The special audit of the CWB occurred when the governance of the CWB changed from the commissioner model to the elected farmer BOD model (2002). The CWB changed their vessel load terms some time after that - around 2009.

I'm going to defend Ian here as I saw that he was in a tough spot with what could only be described as a rogue BOD and senior staff that were severely ideological. And since they had a COO (Ward Weisensel), Ian would have naturally delegated operational issues (like "load terms") to Weisensel. I could see missing the issue of making dispatch a bonus factor as well - because he likely didn't know about the expansion of "CWB load terms".

I can't speak for Ritz or any others but I can assume that he (they) were well aware of the many issues of disfunction within the CWB. From my perspective, tackling any single issue (like the dispatch story - or the others, mainly evidence of incompetence) could derail the whole process of just shutting the whole thing down.

Why fix the leaky roof when you're going to tear the whole house down anyway?

So the roof is not leaking now and there is transparency and no corruption? So who controls all the grain marketing now and who controls transportation?

[blackpowder]

That book was a long time coming. I've read it almost twice.
Ian White from memory, (I met him)
was chosen to steer the long dismantle process as he did in Oz.
Culmination of a decades long process actually.

Now imagine how many decades we are from modernization of the Post Office for one example. The only difference is, the P.O. was once useful.

[blackpowder]

So the roof is not leaking now and there is transparency and no corruption?

There will always be risk of corruption.
I think we can all support stronger legislative safeguards within a private, open market system in this country.
I believe a market system easier to police than a government ran one.
Transparency issues today persist from a generational apathy and absence of awareness. 3 generations of training in my opinion.
Are you disappointed with the lack of producer involvement or the graincos walking through a door we hold open.

[blackpowder]

And let's call a spade a spade.
What we had wasn't a ramshackle barn with a leaky roof. It was a Hollywood set prop.

[blackpowder]

Look at the example of this thread.
Marketing; started by two people who have a lot to teach; turned into the usual dead end.

It would be interesting to see what older producers talk about in 30 years. I suspect it would be similar to what that gen talks about now while in their 30s & 40s. Making money.
Don't notice any of them with the attitude prevalent in my gen or older.
And that, is a real positive change.

[blackpowder]

So the roof is not leaking now and there is transparency and no corruption? So who controls all the grain marketing now and who controls transportation?

You said you had no aged inventory or storage excess. You tell me who controls your inventory before it hits the pit, who hedges it during the process, and how many railcars are rolling westbound daily.

If we are going to modernize sales reporting as an example, we are all going to have to be on the same page.
Or wait for the next gen to do it.
Which looks like the inevitable course.

[jdepape]

So the roof is not leaking now and there is transparency and no corruption? So who controls all the grain marketing now and who controls transportation?

Price transparency? It's not good. Better than under the CWB, but still, it could be better. That's where I'm spending a fair amount of my time. Under the CWB, you were clearly price takers. Now, there are many ways to address the market - sell spot or deferred, hedge with futures, do basis later, use options and so on. You don't have to simply accept prices - you can build them. Use the tools that are right there.

And you can earn the carry (like grain companies do). Years ago, I asked Ward Weisensel what he believed was the greatest benefit of the CWB to farmers. His answer: "Getting the same price regardless of when you deliver." What a crock. You SHOULD be paid differently for delivery at different times. That's market power that you never had under the CWB. (The CWB had it but didn't understand how to exploit it.)

One of the biggest transparency problems, IMHO, is the use of Target Price Contracts. Selling on a target is like selling a call option - but not getting a premium for it. With targets, the buyers know their "book" of all targets signed up with them - but no one else does. It gives them a huge advantage - and they can trigger them at will with only a few knowing what has happened. Their posted prices are not "the market"; the targets they trigger or specials they offer are "the market". And we need to understand where the market is trading.

I know I'm not supposed to do this but, it fits in the context of this discussion. I have started an online community called The Trading Floor. We have 7 contributors so far (more to come) providing various voices and ideas about the market. It's all free - except my content, for which I charge $525/yr with the option of getting the Combyne CoPilot app (for inventory control) for an extra $100. My content is all about understanding the system better and using the tools and techniques properly and effectively. And doing something to improve price transparency. It's all about tipping the balance of power in farms favour.

Here's the link: [url]https://thetradingfloor.circle.so/c/welcome/[/url]

As for corruption, tell me Agstar77 what you think is happening now that is corrupt. If something is happening shouldn't we do something about it, rather than just complain about it?