BANFF, Alta.(Staff) — A resolution to abolish the Western Grain Transportation Act received wide support at the recent barley growers convention.
The resolution from the Western Barley Growers Association asked that the WGTA be abolished and that grain be handled like any bulk commodity under the jurisdiction of the National Transportation Agency.
Rod Bradshaw of Innisfail, in defending the resolution, bluntly described the current grain transportation system as “a brain-dead organization.
Time for change
“It’s time to pull the plug and start all over again. It won’t be easy but we have to take the initiative to pull away from the trough (because) we’ll be better off in the end. One day we will have a free market.”
Read Also
Going beyond “Resistant” on crop seed labels
Variety resistance is getting more specific on crop disease pathogens, but that information must be conveyed in a way that actually helps producers make rotation decisions.
Barley growers president Wayne Kriz said the resolution showed producers at the convention are willing to give up the benefit in a tradeoff for transportation efficiencies.
Bill Cooper of Westbend, Sask. warned against giving up the benefit entirely until cumbersome regulations are gone. He proposed the $620 million in the program be redirected to research and market development, which would be acceptable under international trade rules.
That proposal was defeated.
Jim Herriman of Palliser Grain said earlier in the convention that the country must get rid of the method of payment because it squanders opportunities.
