LOUGHEED, Alta. – A Canadian Wheat Board program was so popular that it was nicknamed the lottery because only a few farmers won the chance to participate.
The Grainflo program was created as a way to encourage farmers to hold onto their grain until months when few farmers want to haul grain and the wheat board needs grain to fill orders.
For the hassle, farmers were paid a storage premium on the grain.
“We soon found out the wheat board gave too good of a break,” said Bill Woods, a farmer and elected board director, during a Farmer Forum wheat board meeting.
Read Also
Food vs. fuel debate simmers in the background
The OECD/FAO are forecasting that 27% of the global cereals crop will go to biofuels and other industrial purposes by 2034.
Hundreds of farmers across the Prairies tried to electronically sign up, but only a few were successful.
“It was too popular,” said Woods.
“The wheat board has a struggle to get grain in, especially during spring seeding. The thought was why not give some extra incentive to farmers.”
Only one in 20 farmers who tried to participate in the program were successful.
“It became a lottery. If you lived in rural area with no high speed, you were at a disadvantage.”
Woods said companies like Cargill and Viterra also had difficulty. The increased demand on Viterra’s computers bogged down the system and few Viterra customers registered for the program. Cargill staff was told not to go on computers while the program was offered and had success with farmer sign ups.
“We do recognize there were issues, we want to make changes to give people a fair shake.
Don Lunty of Forestburg, Alta., said it was a flawed program from the start. With only a limited number of tonnes available and only a handful being chosen, the wheat board was picking winners and losers.
Woods said the change in how countries buy wheat has changed the way grain is sold.
“It’s the buying from hand to mouth that has changed everything.”
Greg Bosch of Provost, Alta., suggested farmers getting into the program this year should not be eligible in following years. He said he would give other farmers a chance.
“Getting paid storage is pretty good value to farmers,” said Bosch.
“If the same people keep getting storage payments year after year, it creates some inequality.”
Ian White, CWB chief executive officer, recognizes the program has flaws and is working to make it more equitable.
Despite the program’s popularity, it didn’t fill up. There was still space for the least popular months and grades of wheat.
Barry and Lana Love of Hardisty, Alta., were producers who took advantage of the program by using producer cars.
Barry said they had mixed success because their initial number one wheat sample didn’t reflect all the grain they needed to fill six producer cars. Because all their grain didn’t grade number one, they weren’t able to fulfill the contract requirements and were charged a penalty.
They were able to deliver 80 percent of their grain while other farmers have only managed to deliver half.
