Two more farmers have announced they’re running to be the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) director in district 9. Garry Draper and John Sandborn farm at Lenore and Benito, respectively.
Last month Dauphin-area farmer Ernie Sirski announced he was running for the job being vacated by Shoal Lake farmer Bill Nicholson, who can’t run again because his term is up.
Both Sandborn and Draper described themselves in separate interviews Sept. 9, as strong single-desk marketing supporters. Farmers, not the government nor World Trade Organization, should determine the CWB’s marketing mandate, they said.
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Sirski declined to say whether he supports the single desk or an open market when interviewed in Aug. 19. The CWB’s mandate will be determined by Parliament, not the CWB’s board of directors, he added.
Sandborn, who was a director of Manitoba Pool Elevators and Agricore between 1997 and 2001, grows wheat and canola. He’s also active in the co-operative movement, including serving on the SwanValley Consumer Co-op board for 15 years and is currently vice-president.
“The single desk presents farmers with the best of both worlds,” Sandborn said. “They get the strength of the single desk… plus flexible pricing options that give you a lot of the options you’d have in an open market.”
Draper, who farms with two sons, produces crops and beef cattle. He has been a Fort la Bosse school board trustee for 18 years and has chaired the board for the past five years.
Draper has also been a director of the Manitoba Association of School Trustees and was its president for two years.
“I think the single desk returns the most benefit from domestic and world markets,” Draper said.
Nominations for those seeking to be elected as CWB directors in odd-numbered districts close Oct. 15 at 6 p. m. CST. [email protected]
