ASSINIBOIA, Sask. – The Canadian Wheat Board is examining ways to make durum deliveries fairer in time for the 2006 crop.
Larry Hill, director for District 3, told about 60 farmers at a meeting here March 13 that the board is aware of the problems producers have had delivering durum.
Focus group meetings are under way this month, and recommendations on how to change the durum policy will be forwarded to the board.
“It’s going to be difficult to find the answer,” said Hill in an interview.
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Lafleche, Sask., durum grower Larry Crooks said he believes the problem stems from changing the acreage-based quota delivery system to one based on contract calls.
He said that change, made years ago, didn’t take into consideration that farmers would change management practices and radically improve yields on the same acreage. Nor did it consider that some farmers would be dishonest.
Crooks told the meeting that some farmers are lying about how much grain they have so they are able to move their entire stock when the board calls.
“He’s contracting twice as much because he knows you’re going to take half of it,” he suggested.
Another problem is the identity preserved contract program that guaranteed the board would take every bushel of Navigator, Crooks said.
The seed, at $10 per bushel, is supposed to be purchased from Saskatchewan Wheat Pool.
Some farmers are holding back grain, cleaning their own seed, planting more acres and claiming huge yields, he said.
For example, if a farmer purchases enough seed to plant 300 acres, but really seeds 900 acres and gets a yield of 30 bu. per acre, that farmer would claim a yield of 90 bu. per acre to make the numbers jibe.
“You know perfectly well that crop didn’t do 90 bu. per acre,” Crooks said. “They gotta go back where the amount of grain you sell has somehow got to be related to the acres you seed.”
He said if that happened, “maybe some of us that played by the rules would actually get to haul some grain.”
Hill agreed there are problems, but said most farmers are honest and coffee-shop talk is often just that.
He said a quota system wouldn’t please everyone either because of the yields some farmers get.
In Alberta’s irrigated area, for example, yields of 80-100 bu. per acre are obtainable.
“They are not going to be happy with a 20 bu. quota,” Hill said.
The board will examine all options as it moves to make changes in time for the new crop.
Hill added that many farmers are frustrated due to the durum oversupply.
“We’re still going to have burdensome supplies this year unless there’s a total failure,” he told the meeting. “We’ll slowly work our way out of this.”
Durum carryin for the 2006-07 crop year is about 3.3 million tonnes. Production of 4.3 million tonnes is forecasted, for a total supply of 7.6 million tonnes.
Domestic consumption is projected at 1.1 million tonnes and exports are expected to be 3.7 million tonnes, leaving carryout at three million tonnes.
