Re: Ship Purchase beyond CWB Mandate (March 10, page 11)
I was struck by one sentence in the above article by Mr. Penner; “No matter what degree of due diligence done, no one ever knows these things for sure until long after they are set in motion.” Mr. Penner then goes on to describe in detail how the purchase of the ships will be a disaster for farmers before the ships are even built. Should he not wait even a while to see if this might be a good idea? It appears that there are some things that Mr. Penner knows the consequences of well in advance – or is it possible that he is opposed to any action by the Canadian Wheat Board? Could it be he feels that $1 per tonne for four years is an exorbitant amount to spend on potential transportation efficiencies?
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The mandate of the CWB is “to maximize returns to farmers.” There is no one way of accomplishing this and reducing costs helps to maximize returns just as much as higher prices.
I am glad the CWB Board of Directors is prepared to think outside the box and consider new ideas. Of course, in this part of Alberta, we are sensitive to the issue of no transportation since many in this area have yet to ship any wheat to the coast in this crop year thanks to no rail cars. I tried to price some canola for June delivery and was refused because there was no certainty of shipping for the previously contracted canola by then. I am sure there is a ‘minimizing of results’ by not being able to ship our produce to market.
This brings us to the subject of railway performance. Many of our customers and competitors are in the process of building high-speed rail services. The Chinese are going full steam ahead (pun intended) with building a system of 200 kilometer per hour capacity railways. The U.S. is building a similar system except for the states where governors are waiting to see if this is a good idea and, in the meantime, they are refusing federal funds. Is anyone in Canada even thinking of upgrading our rail system or are they also waiting to see how these things turn out? Waiting to see how things turn out guarantees one thing; you are always last on the block and playing catch up.
As a farmer, I go out seeding every spring never knowing how things will turn out. Some years turn out well and some are terrible but one thing is sure, I won’t get a crop of any kind if I don’t seed. I hope other members of the WCWGA are open to thinking that things don’t always have to be done the way it’s always been done.
Horst Schreiber,Ohaton, Alta.
