Boost Canadian Wheat Board as risk management tool, CWB director says

In a plea to the Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture, Ian McCreary, farmer-elected director of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB), asked for legislative support to strengthen the CWB and thereby help manage farmers risks.
Risk management tools such as the CWB can provide agricultural market and grain trade power to the producers are necessary, McCreary said. This can be achieved through support for marketing organizations and not just through income-support programs, he added.
I am not talking more money here, McCreary said in a press release issued by the Canadian Wheat Board. I am not asking for more government programs.
What is needed is a commitment that marketing organizations like the CWB which establish some balance in the market and provide grain producers with solid price risk management options be enabled to exercise the powers that make them effective.
Risk management measures must be put in place for farmers because of the high risks associated with the industry including production and market-based risks that the farmers cannot control, McCreary noted.
He cited some outside influences that affect farmers including railways, the international grain market, foreign governments setting trade policies and high costs.
Organizations such as the CWB are able to assist farmers with these risks and concerns through the implementation of market diversification, wheat branding, price pooling and customized pricing strategies, he said.
McCreary questioned how this support would continue if the government goes ahead with its plan to create a voluntary CWB.
It is my hope that, in trying to do something real to help the farmers of Western Canada better manage their risk, the government may revisit its position (on the CWB), McCreary stated in a press release.