Canadian Wheat Board - Support For The CWB

Support For The CWB

In a recent plebiscite (referendum) conducted by Meyers norris Penny, 62% of CWB farmers voted that they wanted to keep the wheat board. Proponents of maintaining the CWB have stated that the collective barganing power of the wheat board gives farmers a better price than they would have if they were individually marketing to large multi-national corporations. At this time, farmers already have the ability to market all the crops save wheat and malt barley independently, meaning it is possible to succeed marketing grain without board oversight. This, however, may make farmers more susceptible to fluctuations in the commodity market and to focus more of their time on the business aspect of farming, rather than farming. The Wheat Board currently attempts to offer producers more options in recent years - for example, farmers can now purchase binding futures contracts from the Wheat Board that attempt to pay them the same price that they would get for their grain in the U.S.