New Crop Prices

[TOM4CWB]

Charlie,

The problem becomes that our feed wheat grade is not at all quality based.

Canada Feed Wheat can be US #1 Dark Northern 16 percent protein wheat.

We must develop a quality based grading system, for it to be fair to farmers!

How soon do you think this will happen Charlie?

Is it fair that a grain company can buy Canada feed wheat and make $2.00/bu on it just because our grading system is in a big mess?

[charliep]

I will defer your question about how quickly/whether we should move away from the current CGC grading system to one based more on quality specifications. You raise good points as have others. A point is there will be winners and loosers in this process. I am not so sure you will be adding value to your crop rather than just giving another reason to discount wheat . Just an opinion.

With regards to feed wheat, I have to highlight the reason for downgrading make a big difference in whether it is feed or a lower quality wheat with milling properties. Obviously with sprout damage, falling numbers will be down and therefore, poor milling qualities. If the downgrading factor is frost, then it can still have reasonable falling numbers/milling quality. The issues will be shrivelling/lighter bushels weights. Flour yields will be down and a harder kernel will make milling a lot more difficult (if my memory is correct, somewhat similar to grinding small rocks). Putting it another way, even the best quality feed wheat is not a Cadilac product . The issue is that it remains a lower quality wheat - there is a reasonable relationship (not perfect) between our current grading system and quality.

The US system handles the above by blending wheats to achieve a specification. I will leave to discussion as to which system is better.

[TOM4CWB]

Charlie,

I do believe you missed the point.

If I grow a US variety, of perfect quality, it is good milling wheat for everyone in the real world except the CWB.

But the CWB still grades it Canada Feed, and charges me at least an extortionary buy-back price. Is this fair?

Did the CWB in fact create any value for me, when they don't even market this wheat, and do nothing within the Canadian system to buy or fairly accomodate this wheat.

The Western Grain Marketing Panel said let unregistered varieties go.

The CWB will not.

The CWB will have this one on their grave marker if they do not deal with it fairly!

[charliep]

A question back to you Tom4CWB. Are we talking about changes that would allow you to move grain south under a more flexible system or are you talking about fundamental changes to the grading system that will impact all deliveries/sales? Under the assumption of the latter, what would the grading system look like? Would we move to a US system? Can we compete with what I consider a Walmart system in the US - particularly in a world where US subsidies are based on price and encourage maximum yield? Do we have a competitive advantage we can exploit in our varieties/current system? A fundamental aspect is who is accountable for moving specific product with identifiable quality characturistics from the elevator to port (Braveheart raised this question in another link) - CWB or grain companies?