AS a graingrower I have been fortunate to attend meetings and conferences throughout the WA grainbelt over the years and often admired the capability, control and ownership growers have built co-operatively between their paddock and their customer.
This success by growers is no accident or coincidence and is intrinsic in the ongoing form of CBH, the structure with proven performance for growers as sole beneficiary and now the envy of many graingrowers in the rest of our nation who have no such champion to rely on.
I read in Farm Weekly of proposals for change that incrementally, but fundamentally change this successful co-op structure onto the slippery slope to corporatisation, privatisation and a future of gouging that we now face every season here in the east.
Over here growers used to have proprietary control of our bulk handling and the supply chain governed to wholesale rates, including freight, by a strong negotiator in the form of the National Wheat Pool.
Back then we were typically charged about 25 per cent of our customer's cheque, but now with corporate middle-men well in control and serving their shareholders and the taxman, we are regularly gouged retail rates that often deduct more than 40pc of crop proceeds and exceed $100 per tonne across major areas of our Wheatbelt.
Just some other detrimental effects include the ongoing closure of many sites, loss of segregations, forcing 300 kilometre round trip harvest delivery routes and then resulting stoppages for the headers in the paddock.
Please stop and think about this real experience in the east and the slippery slope you will step on if you are considering voting yes - and resist one of the oldest corporate tricks - don't hand over your valuable proxy to the chairman.
