Dauphin, Man. – The Canadian Wheat Board director election campaign
began in earnest last week as public forums provided farmers their
first chance to hear the candidates first-hand.
Until then, Andy Miller had given little thought to the vote. He was
too busy farming.
It was the same for Tom Lewis. Snow was forecast and he was preparing
his farm for the onslaught of winter.
“It’s a busy time of the year,” he said.
Both men farm in western Manitoba, which falls into District 9, one of
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five wheat board districts where elections of farmer directors are
being held.
The three candidates in that district were on the campaign trail last
week, trying to persuade farmers to give them their votes.
Miller, a producer from Swan River, thinks the performance of the wheat
board has improved in recent years. He is glad the board has added more
pricing options, although he thinks more could be done.
“I think they’ve pulled their socks up a bit compared to what they used
to be.”
Lewis farms at Medora and is also interested in more flexibility from
the wheat board. He thinks initial payments should be paid sooner and
should more closely reflect what’s happening in the marketplace.
But he didn’t want to reveal whether he thinks the CWB’s single desk
should stay or if the wheat board should be compelled to compete
against grain companies.
“I have friends on both sides of the issue and it’s a small community.”
At an all-candidates forum in Dauphin last week, the three candidates
outlined their views to an audience of less than 40.
Incumbent director Bill Nicholson, a Shoal Lake producer, said he wants
to see more pricing and delivery options developed by the board. He
floated the ideas of on-farm buying and storage payments to farmers.
He said the new pricing options are an indication the board is keeping
producers’ best interests in mind. But he cautioned that further
changes should only be made after weighing the risks of undermining the
single desk.
“The single desk is one of the few advantages farmers have in today’s
world.”
Candidate Don Dewar, a Dauphin producer and single desk supporter, also
emphasized the need for more pricing flexibility.
A past-president of Keystone Agricultural Producers, he said he wants
to see a contingency fund created as a backstop for getting initial
payments out to producers sooner and for delivering more risk
management options.
He also floated the idea of the wheat board having two or three pools
in a year to increase the pricing options.
Candidate Jim Downey, a producer from Melita, said he wants an expanded
role for the wheat board, but under a voluntary marketing system.
He emphasized the possibility of canola being marketed through the
wheat board, but on a voluntary basis.
Downey, a former provincial cabinet minister and deputy premier, also
wants a review of the current buy-back program. He thinks a simpler
solution might be to allow producers to pay a flat fee per bushel when
they want to market their board grain outside the pooling system.
“People are voting with their drills,” he said.
“It’s not all the fault of the Canadian Wheat Board, but the production
of grain (in Western Canada) is going down and down and down.”
