Barley and Wheat farmers in Western Canada may soon have more control over the marketing of their crops thanks to our local MP.
MP for Simcoe North Bruce Stanton tabled a Private Members Bill Thursday that would give farmers in Western Canada the choice between marketing their own crop or participating in the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB).
Bill C-619 would permit western farmers to opt out of participating in CWB activities for a minimum of two years.
Stanton says his Bill would permit Western producers a clear choice, while retaining predictability and stability for farmers who choose to remain in the CWB pool.
Ontario and most of the eastern provinces have been able to market their own grain for years now.
Keith Currie an Executive Member with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and says he can’t say whether the change is good or not, but feels many farmers would like the opportunity to explore their own markets.
Currie does say that giving more control back to the farmers is a positive move, but as to whether or not it’s changed the market – he says there’s years they win and year’s they loose, but generally over a ten year period it tends to even out.
Currie says Ontario farmers maintain a pretty steady balance of what they self market and what goes through the CWB pool, and feels they wouldn’t want to go back to the old ways still facing western producers.
