MUNDARE, Alta. – Unless the Canadian Wheat Board steps up the campaign to promote its benefits to farmers, the voices on the open market side will win the war by default, said a farmer during a wheat board farmer forum.
“The arguments are too one sided,” said Bernie Klammer of Vegreville, Alta.
“The wheat board has to start telling us the benefits (of the single desk) if they want to stay around and do a job for us. The pro (market) choice side is very active.”
Read Also

Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes
federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
Klammer said vocal opposition to the wheat board’s single desk and the current high market prices for grain, may push many farmers to join the marketing choice side.
“The board has not been aggressive in its education.”
Maureen Fitzhenry, CWB spokesperson, said the board is still under a gag order initiated by the federal government in October 2006. That limits what the board is able to say about its benefits.
“We’re prevented from spending farmer money advocating retention of the single desk,” said Fitzhenry.
A court challenge by the board against the gag order, initiated in 2006, has not been heard in court.
CWB director Allen Oberg said in the past year, he has attended 18 board meetings or teleconference meetings and every one has focused on the federal government’s push to remove barley marketing from the board’s control.
“Government relations was an issue at every meeting,” said Oberg, who believes the board should focus on grain transportation or marketing issues, not deflecting body blows from the federal government.
“Unfortunately, we find ourselves in a situation with a government that started out ambivalent to the wheat board situation to unco-operative to now is clearly openly hostile to the board,” Oberg told farmers at the meeting. “That’s the situation we find ourselves in and it’s very distracting.”