Cwb Impasse Stymies Buyers

Canadian millers could be forced to import wheat from the U.S. if they can t forward contract with the Canadian Wheat Board or private trade during the transition to an open market, industry officials say. Millers and other food processors routinely forward contract wheat up to a year in advance but the pending end of

Farmers Will Finally Get Their Wish

DearEditor, Birthday parties are usually more fun. Instead, western Canadian wheat and barley farmers are capping off 68 years of being treated like second-class citizens. On October 12, 1943, the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) monopoly was born and imposed on western Canadian farmers when Canada was committed to supplying cheap wheat to Europe during the


Harper Orders Wheat Board Out Of The Way

Canada s Conservative government will pass legislation very soon to end the Canadian Wheat Board s monopoly on marketing western wheat and barley for milling or export, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Oct. 7, strongly warning the board to get out of the way. Harper, in Regina, Saskatchewan for the announcement for construction of Western

Can Ritz Deliver On His Promises?

The federal government has promised western Canadian farmers they can have the Canadian Wheat Board and an open market too. Most farmers assume the only major change to the wheat board will be the loss of its monopoly over the sale of western Canadian wheat and barley destined for export or domestic human consumption. The


Voluntary CWB Unlikely: Toews

The working group report says farmers are disappointed the Canadian Wheat Board hasn t come up with a plan for transitioning into an open market. The board says it has presented options, but Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz refuses to acknowledge or accept them. Unfortunately the minister has never sat down with the board to even

Farmers Reap $35 Million In Transportation Savings

STAFF / The Canadian Wheat Board says it saved western Canadian farmers $35 million in grain transportation during the previous crop year, through programs designed to reduce producers costs for moving their grain to port. Farmers bear all the costs of grain transportation, so the CWB is constantly looking for ways to keep those costs


KAP Bows Out Of CWB Fight

The Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP), once a steadfast supporter of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB), accepts the board will lose its single desk. Now Manitoba s largest farm group wants to ensure farmers benefit from the controversial change, says KAP president Doug Chorney. We re just facing the reality of the circumstances that we find

Market Power: 50 Years Forward, 50 Years Back

As a farmer, I m alarmed at an elected government denying farmers a say in arguably the most important question in the history of Prairie farming. Without the marketing and representative power of the Canadian Wheat Board, grain farmers would be a scattered bunch of thousands peddling their wares to a handful of powerful grain


Letters – for Sep. 29, 2011

Farmers deserve freedom of choice It is correct that 62 per cent of eligible farmers, deemed by the CWB, voted in favour of protecting the monopoly of the CWB, a foregone conclusion. When the math is done right, confirmed by Sidney Green, it is in fact only 34 per cent of all farmers. However, whatever

Is Supply Management Next?

The Conservative government s decision to end the Canadian Wheat Board s monopoly has supply management s critics in the media, business and academia sharpening their knives. Not surprisingly, the detractors are saying it s also time for an open market in milk, eggs, chicken and turkey. If marketing freedom and open markets are good