Canada: New poll claims majority of farmers believe open market system is beneficial for their business

A new poll claims the vast majority of western farmers believe the open market system for wheat and barley will be beneficial for their business, following the elimination of the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly on export sales of western wheat and barley on Aug. 1, Leader Post reported on November, 29.

However, some farm groups question the methodology of the poll, which surveyed about 400 farmers with 2,000 acres or more of wheat or canola production.

The critics claim the poll over-represents large farm operators, who tend to oppose the CWB’s ‘single-desk’ marketing system and under-represents average or smaller farmers, who tend to support the single desk. And they’re sceptical of the motivation of the poll’s sponsor, BASF, a multinational agricultural chemical company.

The poll of wheat and canola farmers in the three Prairie provinces conducted in October by Ipsos Reid shows 85 per cent of those surveyed believe the open market system will be beneficial for their business, while 15 per cent believe that the open market will be harmful to their business.

While the farmers surveyed were supportive of the new wheat marketing system, many still believe there are challenges related to the removal of the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly by the Harper government.

For example, the CWB’s single-desk marketing system provided many farmers with consistent revenues and risk management. As a result, eight in 10 western wheat farmers surveyed believe that “revenue certainty and risk management” is a “challenge” under the new system.

More than half of respondents believe “finding new means to market wheat” is another “challenge,” the poll said.

Harley House, a manager with BASF in Winnipeg, said the company, which produces herbicides, pesticides and other agricultural chemicals, wanted the opinions of larger farm operators, who produce most of the wheat and barley in Western Canada.

“We were concentrating on growers (with) fair-sized farm operations, and deliberately not trying to capture all demographics, but more the middle and larger farm base,” House said. “(The poll) captures the views of the farmers who are farming the majority of the acres. ’’

Asked why canola growers would be surveyed for their opinions on wheat and barley marketing, House said the company wanted to survey farmers who may rotate between wheat and canola production.

And he conceded the optimism of the farmers surveyed has more to do with current high prices for wheat and barley than “marketing freedom.’’ “It’s price-driven,” House said. “It isn’t related to the change in the wheat board and the single desk.’’

Bill Gehl of the Canadian Wheat Board Alliance, a pro single-desk farm group, said a survey of 400 larger farm operators doesn’t represent the views of the average Saskatchewan farmer, who farms less than 1,700 acres. “It’s (a poll that’s) in search of an answer that you want.’’

Gehl added that it’s too early to assess the impact of the elimination of the single desk on western farmers. “This isn’t going to take weeks, or months. This is going to take years before you can get some sort of a real (assessment) of what things are going to be.’’

30 November, 2012