REGINA (Staff) – The anti-dual marketing sentiment of Saskatchewan Wheat Pool was made abundantly clear Nov. 30 when a recorded vote showed not even one delegate in favor.
A single abstention was the only exception to the overwhelming defeat of a pro-dual marketing resolution.
The proposal, calling for Saskatchewan Wheat Pool to support a dual marketing system for wheat and barley, was advanced by district eight delegate Curtis Savenkoff. He requested a recorded vote to provide an exact measure of delegates’ feelings.
During the first few days of the meeting, pool president Leroy Larsen and Saskatchewan premier Roy Romanow spoke in favor of single desk selling for the Canadian Wheat Board. Both speakers’ views garnered loud applause from pool delegates.
Read Also
Saskatchewan dairy farm breeds international champion
A Saskatchewan bred cow made history at the 2025 World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin, when she was named grand champion in the five-year-old Holstein class.
Internal competition
Fred Harrison of Rocanville argued against dual marketing, comparing the Canadian Wheat Board to a big store where grain buyers had to shop.
If the board’s monopoly on export sales was broken, grain buyers could “shop around” and get lower prices, he said. “We don’t need internal competition.”
Delegate Glen Mitchell said he supports the wheat board monopoly, but added it was good for delegates to debate the issue of dual marketing.
Supporters of dual marketing are often called “greedy” because they are concentrating on personal interest, he said.
But producers have to keep their own best interests in mind at all times because “the guy that looks after my farm is me.”
