CAMROSE, Alta. – The Canadian Wheat Board would be a “toothless tiger” if it lost its barley and wheat selling monopoly, said the head of the wheat board’s corporate communications.
“A Canadian Wheat Board without a monopoly is just another grain company,” Bob Rohle told about 125 farmers during a wheat board plebiscite information meeting last week.
A dual market and a wheat board are “mutually exclusive,” said Rohle. “You either have one or the other.”
The meeting was organized by a group of farmers calling themselves Concerned Agricultural Producers. Bernie Von Tettenborn, one of the organizers, said they wanted farmers to have an informed vote on the upcoming plebiscite.
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The Alberta government organized a non-binding plebiscite Nov. 14-24 asking farmers if they want the wheat board to continue its monopoly on international sales of wheat and barley.
Von Tettenborn said he invited Wayne Kriz of the Western Barley Growers Association to the meeting to give the dual marketing side of the issue, but at the last minute Kriz declined the invitation.
“It’s too bad. It would have been a lot better,” said Von Tettenborn.
But Kriz said if farmers want to hear the dual marketing argument they should attend meetings organized by Western Canadian Wheat Growers or the Western Barley Growers Association.
“Maybe they have to go out to more than one meeting. We’re not interested in an adversarial debate,” said Kriz.
Dave Powley of Sherwood Park said he was disappointed there weren’t representatives from both sides of the issue at the meeting.
“Sometimes when you get a dialogue, you get more questions answered,” said Powley, who farms east of Edmonton.
How would it work?
Powley said by the questions asked he thinks farmers wanted to know the basics of the wheat board and how a dual marketing system would work. “How would you proceed? Do you just drive your truck across the border?” he wondered.
Brian White, director of the board’s market analysis department, was asked if the board would work if there was a monopoly for overseas markets and dual marketing in North America.
“I don’t think we could continue to operate under that situation. There would be leakage of grain into the offshore market and we would end up competing with ourselves and that’s what we are trying to avoid with this marketing system, farmers competing with each other.”
Brian Nelson said the meeting reaffirmed his belief it’s necessary to maintain the wheat board monopoly. “The major thing it has answered, is I believe the Canadian Wheat Board will do a better job of marketing our grain as a single-desk selling agency rather than individual seed companies,” said Nelson, of Camrose.
The meeting also cemented Jim Oberg’s decision that the wheat board is still the best marketing agency for him.
“I believe the wheat board is doing the best job they can and I think it would be a sad day if they folded,” said Oberg, of Forestburg.
Steve Hodgetts said he decided in favor of the dual marketing system before he came to the meeting.
“I want to try something new,” said Hodgetts, a grain, livestock and forage producer. He points to the cattle industry as an example of the benefits of selling directly into the United States.
“If we didn’t have the freedom to move cattle there we would have poor prices up here,” he said.
