Brian Otto, a Warner, Alta., area farmer and unsuccessful candidate in recent Canadian Wheat Board director elections, reflects on the need for CWB changes to address farmer concerns. After reflecting on the outcome of the Canadian Wheat Board elections, I am concerned that the elected directors who support the single desk are not listening to […] Read more
Stories by Brian Otto
True barley value
What is the true value of feed barley in Western Canada? With the Canadian Wheat Board’s new pricing initiatives for marketing feed barley, producers are still trying to figure out what is a good price. Ian White, CWB’s CEO states, “although some market watchers have argued that offshore barley cash sales should have immediately boosted […] Read more
Industry direction
As a western Canadian durum producer, I am concerned about the direction our industry is heading. Two years ago, we had record prices for durum and the Canadian Wheat Board withheld 27 percent of the durum crop from the market. They feared that if they marketed more that year, it would have had a negative […] Read more
Open the market for barley – Opinion
Otto is president of the Western Barley Growers Association. He is from Warner, Alta. Some exceptional things are happening in barley markets. The Canadian Wheat Board reported record pooled prices for malt barley along with record exports for the 2008-09 crop year. It was truly a banner year. According to the CWB year-end presentation, “producers’ […] Read more
