Voluntary CWB

[Steve]

I think a voluntary CWB can be established and would be beneficial to all producers as a choice to market grain.

Before I start to unveil my way how to accomplish this seemingly impossible task, it seems I should point out some of the negative things that are hindering the progress to speed up needed changes to the CWB.

I believe things like a farmer driving his combine to Ottawa is pretty stupid and all he did was annoy drivers along the route and ended up with a worn-out machine.

Farmers trucking grain across the Canada / USA boarder without proper paper work are asking for problems on both sides of the boarder. I realize the farmers intentions were to disclose to the public the injustice the CWB is doing to them, but I think all you coffee shop lawyers didn’t understand all the complications that could arise from this action.

Life is too short to go to jail and prove nothing but that you screwed up, and lawyers fees are too high to keep fighting a losing battle.

The export / import business can at anytime become very complex and unfair because of the protectionism of countries to firstly support their own people.

I think we should stop calling each other idiots and start proposing unselfish changes to the CWB to benefit all farmers. At the present time some of you are just trying to interpret some of the CWB act to try and prove that you’re a smart cat, but get that chip off you shoulder because there is more to marketing than issuing free export licenses.
Free export licenses is just a band-aid solution to the CWB problem and can prove to be a disaster at the U.S.A boarder in later years.

We should start diplomatic discussions with the CWB directors to change the board to work for the farmers, because kicking each other in the teeth will never get cooperation on even the most basic issues.

I suggest delete all commodities control from the CWB, but make it a voluntary choice for farmers if they want the board to market their grains and oil seeds. This would give all farmers freedom to market their products and at the same time promote Added- Value in Canada. “StrawBoss ! I think you also proposed for commodities to be deleted from the CWB control and I agree.

I believe that the CWB directors could make this change without Government legislation and this would automatically give freedom and choice for farmers to market their products. CWB employees and directors change is inevitable so start saying we can make the necessary changes to survive if the farmers have a choice.

At the present there are a few individuals that want changes to the CWB to accommodate their marketing and risk managing ideas. Let us make the CWB a marketing choice and if you don’t like the way they market, don’t deliver to the board simple as that.


That is the way I see a fast and easy way to satisfy most producers marketing needs in Canada and retain the CWB services for farmers that need it.

Comments please.

[TOM4CWB]

Steve;

Excelent ideas;

CWB Act

"PART VI
MARKETING PLANS

"grain" means

(a) ****seed, and

(b) such other grain or variety, grade or class thereof, not required to be marketed through the Corporation, as is designated by the Governor in Council as a grain for the purposes of this Part;
"marketing plan" or "plan" means a plan for the marketing in interprovincial or export trade of grain produced and delivered to elevators or grain dealers licensed under the Canada Grain Act by producers who have agreed to participate in the plan and whose permit books are endorsed to that effect that includes provision for the pooling or averaging of all or part of the receipts from the sale of the grain and a system of initial payments to those producers and deduction from the pool of the operational expenses thereof;"

Steve, the legislation is all here in the CWB Act to add voluntary marketing of other crops.

And the CWB directors can start marketing only wheat and barley offered and delivered under Part III, rather than forcing farmers to market only to the CWB...

So your plan is bang on...

EXCEPT...

A very big job is ahead to get the other grains to be under CWB marketing... Many will be bitter and resist... saying this will be a ploy to get a CWB monopoly over all grains.

Unfortunately much mistrust will have to be fixed... and the CWB has caused this mistrust, almost singlehandidly.

This is why it was critical in 1996, that the Western Grain Marketing Panel (WGMP) Report was heeded, and implemented.

First step for the CWB?

Implement ALL the WGMP Report recomendations immediately.

Then maybe enough trust can be built back up to allow the voluntary grains under Part VI, to be added back to CWB Marketing.

What a big task, do you think there is enough good will left, to get this job done?

[ianben]

Hi Steve
Welcome back. Hope you enjoyed some good summer golf.

Would your voluntary CWB be a grain buyer or the seller of unpriced grain.

Not sure how far back you have gone in the threads but here in the UK a voluntary MMB was definatly the seller of unpriced milk with disasterous results

[les]

Well put Steve

[Steve]

Hi! Ianben

I did enjoyed golfing this summer. It was so dry that the golf course was also short of water and part of the summer only the greens were watered.
I hope you had a better year than most of the farmers in central Alberta. We will need 4 feet of snow this winter to restore some of the moisture needed for grasslands, pastures and fill the dugouts with water, so our cattle industry can survive.
If we get timely rains next year it is possible to grow fair grain and oil seed crops even if we don’t get too much snow.

I read some of your comments on UK - MMB and I sure can understand that our CWB may seem similar in some areas, but there is so many young farmers feel that the board is limiting their marketing opportunities.

I realize that wheat is probably the easiest crop to grow and the most competitive to market worldwide and time will tell if our freedom farmers can do a better marketing job than the CWB.

The CWB is too political and with our big population difference the board is trying to subsidize the east at the expense of the western prairie farmers. This is causing so much unrest with the young farmers that some change to the CWB is inevitable, may it be right or wrong.

I would like the CWB to become voluntary and a marketing choice for farmers.

I believe the board can operate as a cash grain buyer and also pool and market un-priced grain, but that to happen we need to clean out the deadwood and get management with some backbone to start working for farmers.

The Canadian Government supports the CWB financially so every issue becomes too political. The politicians are saying that the farmer directors are running the CWB, which is hogwash.

Regards Steve

[TOM4CWB]

Steve;

Now you have really hit the nail on the head.

If your attitude had been at working, over the past 2 years at the CWB Board room table, do you think any farmer would be going to jail on Oct. 31st?

I would suggest, NOT ONE.

Thankyou for caring about younger farmers!