When Bill Clinton was elected president in 1992, a sign hung in his campaign headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas, reminding workers, “It’s the economy, stupid.”In other words, stay focused on the bread and butter issues.Based on the 2010 survey of producers by the Canadian Wheat Board, a similar sign could be hung in grain industry offices across the Prairies, saying, “It’s the price of wheat, stupid.”Producers participating in the annual survey were asked what issues will be a problem for their farm in the coming year.The price of wheat came out on top, with 51 percent saying it would be a major problem, 25 percent saying it would be a problem and 15 percent calling it somewhat of a problem, for a total of 91 percent.Only eight percent said it wouldn’t be a problem, with one percent not responding.Of course the price of wheat received by the farmer is also affected by farm input costs, like transportation, fertilizer, chemicals and financing.The cost of farm inputs was identified by 91 percent of producers as a problem, although only 40 percent described it as a major problem.The cost of transportation was third, at 88 percent, while “the price of grains” was fourth at 87 percent. The price of malt barley was identified by 59 percent of respondents as a problem in the coming year.In other words, virtually every problem identified in the survey was related to the price of wheat or grain.The survey conducted by Toronto-based information research company, The Gandalf Group, involved 900 grain producers in the three prairie provinces.The margin of error was plus or minus 3.24 percent 19 times out of 20.The survey, which is done in the spring and fall every year, quizzes farmers about a wide range of subjects, including control of the CWB, support for the CWB and single desk marketing, the role for government in grain marketing, the World Trade Organization, railway costs and farmers’ general feelings of optimism or pessimism about the future.Farmers are clearly feeling more pessimistic. More than half of respondents said they think agriculture is on the wrong track, compared with 31 per cent who said that in last year’s survey.In a news release announcing the results of the survey, the CWB highlighted a number of responses indicating farmers’ desire to have control of the CWB and its future.For example, 76 percent said the federal government should not take action to eliminate the CWB without farmer consent and 79 percent said decisions about the CWB’s future should be made by farmers, not the WTO.On grain marketing, 69 percent supported the single desk for wheat and 48 percent for barley. Among barley growers, 49 percent said the board would get higher prices while 29 percent said the open market would get higher prices.Complete results of the survey can be found at www.cwb.ca.
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