SASKATOON – While some Canadian farmers push for a U.S.-style grain marketing system in Canada, some of their counterparts south of the border are calling for a farmer-controlled North American grain marketing board.
The case for such a board was put before U.S. academics and trade officials attending a conference in Montana last week by Alan Bergman, president of the North Dakota Farmers Union.
“Producers probably are going to have to band together and do something collectively on both sides of the border,” he said in an interview later, adding that his proposal is based on the assumption that the Canada/U.S. border will essentially disappear, at least when it comes to trade.
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Bergman said he’s not talking about setting up a compulsory single desk selling system like the Canadian Wheat Board. It would be more like a big farmer-controlled co-operative, with some government involvement, that would contract for grain supplies with both Canadian and U.S. producers.
Not a monopoly
“It would be different than what you enjoy with the single desk, but the point is producers need to find some way to put something together they can all agree to,” he said. “This would be a starting point.”
Bergman’s suggestion for a North American grain board is unlikely to gain the support of the influential U.S. National Association of Wheat Growers, a strong supporter of open markets and a harsh critic of the Canadian grain marketing system.
But an official with a Montana farm organization said it’s a mistake to view all American grain farmers as individualistic, free enterprisers with no interest in a co-operative, orderly marketing approach to grain marketing.
“I think we have a situation in the States here that is frankly probably similar to what is going in Alberta, with the tail wagging the dog,” said George Paul, executive director of the Montana Farmers Union.
“You have a minority of very vocal people making it appear as though they hold the majority opinion and that may not be the case at all.”
NAWG is just one organization, said Paul, and speaks for “a very narrow point of view.”
He predicted Bergman’s proposal will generate a great deal of interest among U.S. farmers.
