Canada: Survey shows farmers unwilling to put the CWB at risk

Western Canadian farmers are not prepared to put the CWB at risk in order to have the government completely open up the barley market, according to results of the CWB’s annual producer survey, presented at the Western Canada Farm Progress Show, June 21.

“Ensuring that the CWB remains strong is clearly important to Prairie producers,” CWB board chair Ken Ritter said of the survey, conducted in April 2007 among 1,300 farmers. “The CWB is the institution that most farmers identify with and it is clear from their responses that they do not want to lose it.”

Almost 60 per cent of farmers in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba agreed with the statement “I am against anything that would weaken the CWB”. Sixty-six per cent of producers said that the views of the CWB are close to their own – significantly higher than any other farm group, grain company or government. Sixty per cent said the government must ensure the CWB remains strong and viable if it moved to open up the barley market.

The federal government has announced an open market for barley will begin on August 1. However, the CWB producer survey showed that over half of farmers believe the wording of the government’s recent farmer plebiscite on barley marketing has left the meaning of the vote in doubt. “There are real concerns among farmers about the effects of an open market for barley and most think we won’t know those effects for some time,” Ritter said.

The survey responses reveal that farmers who support a dual market are motivated by factors other than the abolition of the single desk.

“They want to choose when they get paid and they think that having more options will increase their revenue – despite not being sure that private companies will get better prices than the CWB,” Ritter said.

“Farmers’ desire for more choice has been a constant motivator for the CWB’s farmer-controlled board since we took over in 1998. We want to finish the job we started. We have a vision for the future that focuses on moving farmers up the grain-industry value chain without sacrificing all the value they get from the single desk.”

The CWB’s performance in marketing grain is seen as having improved dramatically relative to a few years ago, according to the survey. Most farmers are positive about the CWB’s marketing of wheat, although there is less satisfaction with barley marketing.

Producers are far more concerned about farm input costs than they are about the CWB issue, the survey showed. “Ironically, given the energy devoted to this marketing issues, it pales in importance compared to getting costs under control,” Ritter said.

Controlled by western Canadian farmers, the CWB is the largest wheat and barley marketer in the world. One of Canada’s biggest exporters, the Winnipeg-based organization sells grain to over 70 countries and returns all sales revenue, less marketing costs, to farmers.

Summary of key points:

Farmers are not prepared to put the CWB at risk

69 per cent said they strongly (44 per cent) or somewhat (25 per cent) support the CWB
59 per cent strongly or somewhat agree with the statement “I am against anything that would weaken the CWB”.
60 per cent said the government must ensure the CWB remains strong and viable if it moves to open up the barley market, with only 33 per cent saying that the government should completely open up the market no matter what the consequences for the CWB.
66 per cent agreed that creating a so-called dual market for what will eventually result in the end of the CWB
66 per cent said the views of the CWB are close to their own (33 per cent strongly agreed) – the highest for any other farm organization, company or government on a list of 14.
42 per cent said the views of the federal government were close to their own (nine per cent strongly agreed) – the highest result for a federal government in 10 years.
Barley plebiscite

54 per cent agreed that the wording of the plebiscite question has left the meaning of the vote in doubt.
90 per cent agreed that any decision to end the CWB single desk must be made by farmers and not by the federal government.
When those supporting the “dual market” were probed for their reasons, 73 per cent strongly agreed that they wanted to choose when to deliver and be paid up front. Fifty-four per cent strongly agreed that having more companies to sell their grain to would increase their returns. Only 24 per cent strongly agreed that they did not like taking a pool price, while just 16 per cent strongly agreed that private grain marketers can get better prices for wheat than the CWB does.
CWB marketing

75 per cent said the CWB does an excellent to moderately good job of marketing wheat, with 27 per cent calling it an “excellent” job – up 13 per cent from 2005.
54 per cent approved of CWB marketing performance for durum, with 18 per cent describing it as “excellent”, up 11 per cent from 2005.
57 per cent were satisfied with CWB marketing performance for malting barley
49 per cent were positive about CWB marketing of feed barley.
Control of the CWB

68 per cent said they believed the CWB was run by a board of directors, not the federal government.
68 per cent also said they believe the federal government has more say over what happens at the CWB than do farmers.
82 per cent agreed that the fact that the government appoints people to the CWB board of directors means it is still trying to control the CWB.
52 per cent said they believed the CWB would be more effective on behalf of farmers if it had no links to the federal government
Problems for farmers

72 per cent said costs of farm inputs would be a “major problem” in the coming year.
51 per cent said transportation costs would be a major problem.
33 per cent identified the price of wheat as a major problem.
11 per cent said lack of markets for grain was a major problem.

22 June, 2007