Near the top of Allen Oberg’s to-do list is arranging a meeting with Gerry Ritz.Oberg, the new chair of the Canadian Wheat Board, said that since becoming a wheat board director in 2002, he has met Ritz, the minister for agriculture and the CWB, only once.“I’d welcome a face-to-face meeting with the minister at any time to discuss the issues facing us,” he said.Oberg, who farms near Forestburg, Alta., said relations between the CWB and government have improved of late.“We’ve made some progress but there will always be some issues we’re not going to agree on because we have a different philosophy.”Oberg, who was elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2006 as director for CWB District 5, farms with his brother, growing wheat, barley, canola and peas and raising commercial cattle.Oberg said when he first ran for a seat on the board of directors eight years ago, he had no idea he would ever become chair.“When I started, I thought I’d probably be a one-term director and that would be it,” he recalled with a chuckle.But the longer he was there and the more he became involved in the organization, the more committed he became and the more it became a part of him.When Larry Hill became chair in 2008, everyone knew he would have to step down in two years due to term limits, and that’s when Oberg started to think about seeking the chairmanship in 2010.He said high priority issues facing the board include rail transportation, defending grain farmers’ interests at World Trade Organization talks, maintaining farmer control of the CWB and reviewing the structure of the board of directors.
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