The only thing that the federal government and those calling for the elimination of the single desk CWB talk about is their human right to choice. They own the land, they pay the bills, they should be able to choose who they sell their crops to. The fact of the matter is we already have the choice of who we sell our crops to by what we produce.
When we plant our crops we decide whether we are going to sell into the open market or to the single desk by what we choose to plant.
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Significant price shifts have occurred in various grains as compared to what was expected at the beginning of the calendar year. Crop insurance prices can be used as a base for the changes.
Our wise forefathers have worked for decades to develop an open market system while maintaining a strong CWB.
We have the choice every spring to grow feed barley, feed and ethanol grade wheat, oats, rye, triticale, grass seed, pea, lentils, chickpeas, canola, mustard, camelina, alfalfa, silage, hay and in some areas, corn, soybeans, etc. for the open market or malt barley, milling wheat and durum for the single desk.
You will be eliminating that choice. Once committed to the single desk we have the choice of cash plus, fixed price, basis, wheat storage, Churchill storage, early payment options, pooling, etc. You will put those choices in jeopardy.
The federal government’s rush to change all this has already cost some producers up to $30 tonne choice for a premium by the CWB having to discontinue the wheat storage program and the Churchill storage program. Is it a coincidence that producers find milling wheat, durum and malt barley some of the most profitable crops to grow or is it because the CWB makes them premium crops to grow?
I urge western Canadian wheat and barley producers to call on the government to respect their democratic right to vote on the future of their marketing system just like the producers of Ontario and Quebec.
Dwayne Marshman,Rockyford, Alta.
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