End of Canadian Wheat Board monopoly survives its first legal challenge

The Canadian Wheat Board's monopoly to market Prairie wheat and barley has come to an end and survives its first legal challenge.  The Harper government's Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act (Bill C-18) received royal assent on December 15, 2011 and remains in effect for now despite a December 16, 2011 ruling by a Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench judge who denied a motion by eight former wheat board directors that would have temporarily prevented the Harper government from implementing the new law.  It could take as long as a year for the Court of Queen's Bench to hear a motion by the former directors to declare the marketing freedom law invalid.  The following article by Mia Rabson, Postmedia News, sums up the current state of affairs very well.
Farmers can now forward contract their wheat and barley with private grain trading companies against next year's wheat and barley crops for post August 1, 2012 deliveries.  CWB president and CEO Ian White issued a statement Friday assuring farmers that the board will continue to market farmers' grain, if they so wish. "We will work to achieve the best prices for farmers and superior service for customers in Canada and around the world," he said.

.Canadian Wheat Board Monopoly to end

The Canadian Agri-food sector takes another hit as our federal Conservative's government bill to scrap the Canadian Wheat Board's grain marketing monopoly cleared the final stage of approval by Canada's House of Commons November 28, 2011. The bill will end the Wheat Board's six-decade old marketing monopoly for Western Canada's wheat and barley for milling or export as of August 1, 2012, the start of the 2012/13 crop marketing year. The new law will alter the western grain industry as farmers would be able to immediately commit next year's crops to private grain handlers like Viterra, Richardson International Limited and Patterson Global Foods through forward price contracts.
The bill still needs approval from the Canadian Senate under Conservative control and is expected to become law before Christmas. The legislation faces a court challenge on December 6, 2011 by the Wheat Board, which argues that the bill is illegal because the government did not hold a farmer vote on ending the monopoly. The government plans to help the Wheat Board survive without its monopoly by guaranteeing its initial payments to farmers and borrowings for up to five years.
Previous polls have supported the board's monopoly which should always in theory create a higher market price for farmers based on the economics of supply / demand.

Agriculture 2020: Challenges and Opportunities

Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (AAFC) has posted its Agriculture 2020: Challenges and Opportunities Phase 1 Engagement Discussion Document on their website for comments. AAFC's current priorities include support for a sector that proactively manages risk, is environmentally sustainable, innovative, and maintains its' competitiveness. They are starting this dialogue to develop the next agricultural policy framework, the successor to Growing Forward, which ends on March 31, 2013.
The Canadian Agri-food sector's profitability is affected by a host of factors that affect our economy such as exchange rates and evolving consumer preferences, to issues unique to agricultural production such as weather, pests and disease.
Canadian Agri-industry is still driven by innovation through investments in research and development, adoption of new technologies and business practices, and growing new crops with increased yields, improved drought tolerance and superior nutritional attributes. Growth in this sector is attributed to value-added products such as functional foods with beneficial bioactive components, nutraceuticals, and starch-based polymers and blends for new-generation bio-plastics and products that could help reduce reliance on petroleum-based products. Maintaining market access and protecting/exploiting our proprietary knowledge base will become more important as world populations expand faster than available domestic resources can supply, especially in China and India.
Industry will need to work and participate in a leadership role.

The Power of Networking

I had the pleasure of listening to and meeting Donna Messer November 6, 2011 at a Happen meeting in Mississauga. Donna is the Queen of Networking, Published Author, Coach and Trainer, Successful Entrepreneur, and Owner of ConnectUs Canada. Donna enlightened the audience with her networking skills that translate into visibility plus credibility which equals profit.

These words hold true in my career and I owe special thanks to those that helped along the way. Martin Buckland, Executive Career Management Services Professional at Elite Resumes and Executive Career Matchmaker, introduced me to Jacoline Loewen, Partner Loewen & Partners, who is an experienced corporate consultant, lecturer and writer of business strategy. Jacoline subsequently introduced me to Peter Ilnyckyj, Business Development Consultant with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affaires, who is working with a new venture start-up in Toronto for the dairy sector. Subsequent meetings with this company has led me to part-time work at the executive level helping to complete their business plans.
Networking truly is rewarding and I thank Martin, Jacoline, Peter and Donna for making a difference!

The Art of Cold Calling - Selling your new product idea, ingredient, process or technology

Here are the key requirements to consider when attempting your sales pitch.

G

oal:   Aim of cold calling is simply to open dialogue, to get to first base, and possibly (if it suits the prospect) to make an appointment for further discussion and exploration.

P

urpose:   Be concise  - have a powerful strategic basis (your main reason) for requesting dialogue, now or to be scheduled later, depending on the availability of the other person at the time.

S

hort & Sweet:   Keep it simple yet attractive...what's in it for them?

C

reate Trust:  Creating trust with your prospect is your primary goal - not making the sale.

Q

ualify:   Shift your mindset away from 'making the sale' towards whether the fit exists or not.  Look for what the other person is thinking and whether there is actually a real possibility of a fit. Do not assume they should buy what you have.  Aim to qualify, not force or persuade.

B

e a "Helper":   Be a helper not a pitcher.   Help your prospect or client, instead of referring to features and benefits - this centres the conversation on the other person, not you.

G

atekeepers are allies:  Be pleasant to whoever picks up the phone or is guarding the inner sanctum when cold calling. Develop strategies to get the gatekeeper on your side. Sometimes asking, "I wonder if you could help me?" will help you get the information you need, such as the name of the right person to talk to or when the best time to contact the prospect is.

T

iming:  Do your cold calling early in the morning, if possible.  That's the best time to reach the decision maker directly, and for most people, the time that they're most energized and available.  Tuesday morning is now considered the best time for success.

R

emember me?:  Sending prospects or clients a small, unique promotional item can help break the ice and makes your business stand out from the crowd (such as a milk or dark chocolate bar).  You need to be remembered!

E

xample:
Include a greeting and an introduction, a reference point (something about the prospect), the benefits of your product or service, and a transition to a question or dialogue.