An effort to set up a voluntary pool for canola sales under the Canadian Wheat Board gained momentum last week.
During its annual meeting in Winnipeg, Keystone Agricultural Producers supported having the CWB undertake a pilot project for a voluntary canola contract.
“I guess it’s a sign of the times,” KAP president David Rolfe said after the meeting.
“Something has to change, something has to happen for producers to recover their incomes from the marketplace. Right now it’s just not achievable given the current system so guys are looking for alternatives.”
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Larry Bohdanovich is one of three Manitoba producers who jointly proposed asking the wheat board to market canola on a voluntary basis. In an interview, the Grandview farmer said he is losing money on his canola because it is selling far below the cost of production. The price prospects for 2006 have given him no incentive to plant the crop this spring, he added.
“If we can’t make a dollar, we are not going to be in business come this time next year.”
Bohdanovich said there are three markets for canola: oil crushers; the export market and the emerging biodiesel industry. He believes the wheat board could improve export demand, adding to the competition for canola grown in Canada.
“We are prepared as farm businessmen and women to volunteer a tonnage of canola that’s presently in our bins for the board to sell on our behalf into a specific market. We have identified for them where we think that market would be.”
Bohdanovich said he does not resent the profits that the canola crushers are now earning. However, he is concerned with what he considers a lack of transparency in pricing and he is especially skeptical of how basis levels are set.
The idea of a pilot project to voluntarily market canola through the wheat board caused a stir in January when it was proposed at the annual meeting of the Manitoba Canola Growers Association. A resolution presented at that meeting was vaguely worded and did not specifically mention the wheat board. It instead called on the association to consider all options for boosting canola marketing so that prices could be improved.
