WINNIPEG (Staff) – The Canadian Wheat Board would work better if it was a co-operative, according to two individuals who appeared before the Western Grain Marketing Panel here.
Al Loyns, an agricultural economist from the University of Manitoba and a long-time permit book holder with the CWB, told the panel a co-op would probably attract between 60 and 80 percent of the grain business in Canada.
Loyns said the co-op would be more powerful and trade-neutral than the current board and would give farmers more choice.
He said the wheat board is a serious trade irritant to the United States and farmers should try to work out a solution rather than having one forced on them in future trade talks.
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The arguments for and against the wheat board have been oversimplified, he added.
“Arguments from vested interest parties, irrespective of which side they’re on, need to be tested with analysis and results, not polls, and not public support.”
Farmer’s point of view
He did not discuss a study he did for the Alberta government with U.S. economist Colin Carter and told panelists he was at the hearings only as an observer and farmer.
Grant Rigby, a farmer from Killarney, Man., presented the panel with an outline for a Canadian Wheat Exports Co-operative to replace the wheat board.
Rigby said farmers should directly nominate and elect a large council to set budgets, establish policy, and hire directors to manage the co-op’s business.
Under his plan, farmers could deliver to the co-op’s agents or directly to customers as long as they met contract specifications.
Rigby said farmers should be allowed to export wheat used for human consumption, but be charged a modest export tariff, such as the Bank of Canada interest rate.
Farmers should also be able to choose a shorter pooling period. The co-op should be able to better calculate what wheat is worth at a specific destination and ensure farmers are paid accordingly.
Rigby told the panel he thinks a dual market would not be good for farmers, since the wheat board and proponents of an open market would try to compete for sales with “ideological victory in mind.”
