Two recently departed directors from the Canadian Wheat Board have distinctly different views on Ottawa’s approach to restructuring the grain marketing organization. Ross Keith said the government is behaving recklessly by plowing ahead with its plans to dismantle the board’s single desk without adequate consultation or regard for the consequences. “The minister said it was […] Read more
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Ottawa doing hatchet job on CWB: Keith
Quebec farmers told consumer trust waning
STE. ANNE-DE-BELLEVUE, Que. – Canada’s farm and food sectors are losing the public relations campaign for the trust of Canadian consumers, Quebec farmers were told last week. Kevin Stewart, host and creator of the AgVision television service, told the Nov. 3 annual meeting of the Quebec Farmers’ Association that “a steady stream” of negative stories […] Read more
Ont. wheat board no comparison
Anyone who tries to hold up the Ontario wheat board as a model for a restructured Canadian Wheat Board doesn’t know what they’re talking about, says an Ontario wheat official. “You absolutely cannot make any comparisons,” said Dana Omland, marketing manager for the Ontario Wheat Producers’ Marketing Board, who grew up on a farm near […] Read more
Ontario wheat board makes sales to Egypt
Ontario wheat farmers have elbowed their way into Egypt, the world’s biggest and most consistent market for soft wheat. Since July, the Ontario Wheat Producers’ Marketing Board has sold slightly more than 600,000 tonnes of soft red winter wheat to the African country. The shipments mark the first significant sales of Canadian wheat to Egypt […] Read more
Collaboration vital in handling energy exploration
RED DEER – Calgary was caught off guard a few years ago when an energy company proposed drilling six sour gas wells on the city’s southeastern outskirts. Rick McIver, the alderman who represents that part of Calgary, said the city eventually sought the help of the Sundre Petroleum Operators Group for advice as it struggled […] Read more
Mutual funds cited as model for wheat board
A critic of the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly system told MPs last week that those who argue a voluntary board pooling system could not succeed in a free market are ignoring evidence from the financial markets. Al Loyns, a farmer and retired University of Manitoba agricultural economist, told the House of Commons agriculture committee on […] Read more
MP sees red on CWB
Federal agriculture minister Chuck Strahl found himself being compared to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin last week as Liberal MPs cranked up their rhetoric on the Canadian Wheat Board issue. It drew a protest from the government. On Nov. 2 during the daily question period, Liberal agriculture critic Wayne Easter accused Strahl of “initiating a Stalinist […] Read more
Feud focuses on who represents who
Two Saskatchewan politicians with competing visions over the future of the Canadian Wheat Board argued last week over which had the bigger polls. During an Oct. 25 meeting of the House of Commons agriculture committee, Conservative MP David Anderson accused New Democratic Party provincial agriculture minister Mark Wartman of not representing many of his farmer […] Read more
Technology lets plants turn off thirst
A new yield protection technology helps plants handle the heat on dry days without producing ill effects under normal growing conditions. Performance Plants Inc.’s system, known as Yield Protection Technology, will be genetically inserted in corn and soybean seeds, following a licensing agreement with Syngenta Seeds announced in October. The technology works only during drought, […] Read more
Sask. promises better roads
A multi-year, multimillion-dollar strategy designed to make Saskatchewan’s transportation system more effective will soon be unveiled by the provincial government. Highways and transportation minister Eldon Lautermilch said the strategy will be announced “in the next short while.” The government announced its intention during the Oct. 26 throne speech that opened the fall sitting of the […] Read more
