Spencer farms near Lethbridge, Alta.
There are no winners in the court decision on barley marketing.
The July 31 ruling forcing farmers in Western Canada to market through the Canadian Wheat Board will encourage farmers to look at barley as a last resort choice in their crop rotation.ÂÂ
The malt industry, which was far too quiet during the preceding months, will have to scramble to secure stocks in the future, as far less malt barley will be seeded.
Farmers are fed up with a system that has excessive costs and inefficiencies built in to guarantee lower returns for the producer. They have been lobbying for some time for a contract system directly with the maltster. Leaving out the middleman would add quality to the product and dollars to the farmer.ÂÂ
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The CWB is opposed and the industry is only lukewarm to individual producers dealing directly with consumers.ÂÂ
If there is a winner in all of this, it is the livestock feeding industry. Barley prices dropped immediately on news of the ruling because this stops producers from accessing opportunities that exist with our neighbours to the south.
It will be a short-term windfall because farmers are going to grow crops that will generate the biggest returns to their specific operation. It just might not be barley.
The CWB is using Canada Customs to prevent farmers from exporting wheat or barley without first selling the grain to the board and then buying it back at a price that will extract all profit from the sale.ÂÂ
To better manage their cash flow, this system has forced farmers to look toward growing non-board crops. They have done this with great success.
It is extremely unfortunate that the CWB and its supporters are so short-sighted that they cannot envision the role they could play in an open and dual market scenario.
The next move will be to remove the CWB from marketing any barley at all.
Trust me, this is not over. Economics and common sense will eventually win out.
