It’s not easy to do something that makes both the National Farmers Union and the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association happy.
However, last week’s release of the Canadian Wheat Board’s annual producer survey managed to do just that.
Both the pro-single desk NFU and the anti-single desk WCWGA said the survey results supported their views in the grain marketing debate.
“We feel that our position is, if anything, vindicated by the survey,” said Blair Rutter, executive director of the WCWGA.
Meanwhile, NFU president Stewart Wells said the survey results confirm what the NFU has said for years: the majority of prairie farmers support the CWB.
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“In fact, an increasing number of farmers believe the CWB’s role should be strengthened,” he said.
Each side was able to pick and choose among the responses offered by farmers to a wide range of questions about grain marketing and find answers that lined up with their policy positions.
The NFU noted that 76 percent of farmers said they generally support the CWB, an increase of three points from last year. The organization also highlighted the result showing 71 percent of farmers think the CWB most effectively represents their views on the most important farm-related issues.
As well, it liked the fact that when asked to choose between the single desk and the open market as their preferred marketing system, nearly two-thirds chose the single desk.
Rutter said he’s always leery of opinion surveys because the results depend on how questions are asked.
Nevertheless, the association was pleased that given a choice among a single desk, a dual market and an open market, farmers preferred a dual market by 47 percent to 45 percent over the single desk.
“It fits with what we’ve been saying, that half the farmers support the single desk and half not,” Rutter said.
“It’s clear that monopoly supporters cannot look at this and say there is clear evidence the monopoly should be retained. If anything, I think it suggests otherwise.”
He acknowledged that the survey taken as a whole presented “mixed results” as far as the WCWGA is concerned, but added the same is true for board supporters.
“It’s not a ringing endorsement of either side.”
The two groups had differing reactions to the finding that 75 percent of farmers want the single desk issue to be resolved through a vote by farmers and only eight percent want the government to make the decision
That’s in line with NFU thinking, but at odds with the wheat growers, who have urged the Conservative government to follow up its campaign promise to bring in a dual market.
Rutter said the survey results won’t change that view.
“It’s still our position that the government should go ahead and do what it said.”
