Reaction was swift after the federal government introduced legislation on Oct. 18 to end the Canadian Wheat Board's monopoly. The legislation is expected to pass without any trouble considering Harper's majority.
Reaction was swift after the federal government introduced legislation on Oct. 18 to end the Canadian Wheat Board's monopoly. The legislation is expected to pass without any trouble considering Harper's majority.
The CWB and the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association each fired off press releases, in protest and support respectively, of the legislation. Support and opposition to the legislation is fierce in the Weyburn area.
Wayne Vilcu, who farms near Weyburn, said the federal government is "playing with fire" but Marcel Van Staveren, who farms near Creelman, said it is very exciting for him.
The proposed legislation would remove the single-desk monopoly and do away with the 10 farmer-elected board members. The CWB would then be run by the five government appointed officials.
There are also provisions for financial support. Up to $5 million per year for the first five years after the legislation takes effect has been allocated for the CWB. A further $4.1 million will be provided to the Churchill, Man., port over the next three years.
"It's a great expression of freedom," said Ed Komarnicki, MP for Souris-Moose Mountain, of the legislation put forth and said if the CWB doesn't survive, "so be it". He said the government is delivering on something they promised to farmers during the election.
Kevin Bender, president of Western Wheat Growers, said he is very excited about the legislation. He feels farmers will receive a better price on the open market and even said he doesn't feel the government should provide transitional funding to the CWB and the port of Churchill.
"It appears as a subsidy," said Bender of the funding. "If it's low cost, why aren't others using it?" asked Bender and said it will survive on its own if it really is economical.
Van Staveren said he wants the freedom to lock into individual contracts for the grain he produces.
"It's very exciting as a western Canadian farmer to have the freedom and privileges to market our grain," said Van Staveren.
He already has experience marketing non-board crops and has taken marketing and business classes to prepare for the change-over.
Van Staveren claims the CWB hasn't given transparent pricing options and is not happy that he has been forced to hold onto grain that could have been sold in the past.
"I expect to see transparent pricing in the future," said Van Staveren and explained that over the past three years, through both bull and bear cycles, he felt the prices were too low.
"We now should be able to lock in a price we feel is fair," said Van Staveren.
Dale Paslawski, who operates a first-generation 1,900 acre farm near Weyburn, agrees with Van Staveren on many aspects, but said he's "not knocking any of the farmers that want to market through the CWB".
"We've lost too much opportunity under the CWB over the last 25 years," said Paslawski. He said, under the CWB, his farm keeps falling behind and he is looking forward to marketing in American dollars to increase profits.
Paslawski also sees opportunity for value-added businesses, such as pasta plants for Canadian wheat that would filter more money through the western Canadian economy.
Rod Flaman, the elected board member for the Canadian Wheat Board's District 8, which includes Weyburn, said value-added processing is "not going to happen" on the prairies. He explained the market is cornered on many wheat products and consumer demand is not increasing.
Flaman actually first ran for the board on a platform of removing the single-desk CWB, but quickly changed his mind. Flaman's time on the board is just about termed out.
"I've learned so much during my 11 years with the Canadian Wheat Board," said Flaman and added that he felt many people are clinging to rhetoric without studying the facts. He said witnessing how the CWB works from the inside was a "big eye opener" and maintains that without the single-desk monopoly currently granted to the CWB, it is "doomed to fail".
Many farmers, like Paslawski, want to access American grain markets, but Flaman said it won't be as easy as just driving their grain across the border.
Not only do American farmers have their market cornered, who export only about 20 per cent of grain grown in the States, Canada buys the same amount of grain from its own producers. The American grain elevators are subsidized by the American government. A sudden influx of grain trucks with Canadian license plates would likely cause a backlash.
"America doesn't want Canadian farmers accessing their markets," said Flaman.
Flaman said Canadian farmers would also lose premiums in places like Japan, where they have very high grain standards, if the CWB lost its monopoly.
Australia used to export large amounts to Japan, but when their wheat board lost its monopoly, they also lost their premium in many markets, including Japan. Flaman said Australian producers lost one to two dollars a bushel on their grains in the Japanese market when they got rid of their single-desk wheat board.
Australia is now considering recreating their single-desk wheat board.
Flaman also said without any levers of control for the farmers, they will not gain any ground. He said big farms could easily take over and pointed to large companies like Cargill who are already present.
Cargill has agriculture and natural resources tapped and they are already on the prairies. Consumers would be hard pressed to find a food or energy industry Cargill hasn't entered, including anything from agriculture, to food production, salt processing, deicing technology, power and gas markets and more.
For his part, Vilcu agreed with Flaman that there is only room for a single desk.
"I think that's something that should not be touched," said Vilcu of the CWB.
Gene Kessler, an organic farmer in the Pangman area, is also a strong supporter of the CWB. He said the wheat board guarantees the option of certain markets, especially international ones, to the Canadian producer. This is particularly important considering Canada exports about 80 per cent of its grain.
Kessler is such a supporter of the CWB that he, and about 30 other organic producers from across Manitoba and Saskatchewan, teamed up to create their own producer board called Clear Creek Organics. Kessler said the producers modelled their organization directly on the CWB and have been able to bid on larger contracts because of it.
"A farmer going to a grain elevator isn't marketing; he's peddling," said Kessler.
Clear Creek Organics has one contract in Germany and three in China and is constantly getting requests for more.
"If a farmer thinks he can market himself into international markets, he's mistaken," said Kessler, explaining that the size of many international bids are simply too large for one farmer, or even a small group to meet. Additionally, the fact that the CWB is tied to a government entity gives it a bit more weight when collecting its payments.
