Today marks the one-year anniversary of prairie farmers’ courtroom victory that protected the CWB’s ability to market barley and forced the federal government to obey the rule of law. It also represents a $200 million bonus to prairie barley growers in the current crop year.
“We brought together farm organizations and farmers, raised tens-of-thousands of dollars from individual farm families, hired and directed a legal team, and took on the government. And we won at every level of the court system, and scored a major victory for democracy and citizen control. Today marks the anniversary of a significant achievement for farmers and all Canadians,” said Lynn Jacobson, a grain producer from Enchant, Alberta, and one of the farmers who had the foresight and courage to take the federal government to court over its illegal attempt to undermine the CWB.
On June 11, 2007, the federal government tried to strip the CWB of its single-desk marketing authority for barley by issuing an Order-in-Council. That same day, the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board and 12 barley producers from across the prairies announced they would take the government to court to protect farmers’ right to democratically direct their CWB. On July 31, 2007, Justice Hansen of the Federal Court ruled against the government, declaring its Order-in-Council “ultra vires”—outside the legitimate powers of the government. The federal government appealed and lost, giving farmers a February 26, 2008, victory in the Federal Court of Appeal.
The victory was not just judicial, it was financial. Current CWB prices highlight the benefits of
CWB marketing and the wisdom of taking the government to court. According to the CWB, a typical
Alberta or Manitoba farmer can expect to receive $5.13 per bushel for his or her 2007/08 malt barley
at the elevator (Standard Select, two-row, elevation and transportation deducted). A Saskatchewan
farmer can expect $4.99. In contrast, recent United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) data
shows that the weighted average price that US farmers received for their malt barley in the US 2007/08
crop year that ended May 31 was C $3.95.
“Canadian farmers are earning a dollar a bushel more than US farmers for malt barley. That’s the power and value of the single desk. That’s what we went to court to fight for. That’s what we won for prairie farmers,” said Stewart Wells, NFU President and a grain producer at Swift Current, SK.
On the feed barley side, the CWB advantage is also impressive. USDA data shows a weighted average
price for US farmers during their recently-completed crop year of C $4.41 per bushel. According to the
CWB’s most recent Pool Return Outlook, a comparable return at an Alberta elevator is projected at
$4.84—more than 40¢ per bushel higher. A typical Saskatchewan farmer can expect a return of $4.68
per bushel—27¢ more than his or her American counterpart. And farmers in Manitoba can expect
$4.49. “It’s clear that single desk marketing of malt and feed barley through the CWB is giving
Canadian farmers a significant premium over their US neighbours,” observes Wilf Harder, a grain farmer from Morris, MB.
Friends say the fight for farmers’ right to collective marketing must continue. The list of government dirty tricks on the CWB is shameful, it says. It gagged the CWB, fired its CEO, stacked its Board of Directors with anti-CWB individuals, sacked key staff, and interfered with farmer director elections and conducted a fraudulent producer plebiscite designed to achieve a pre-determined result. Going forward, the government wants to arbitrarily remove more voters from participating in farmer director elections, change the CWB Act to terminate farmers’ right to vote on major changes, and it is rumoured the government wants to alter spending limits on director elections, thus giving a huge advantage to grain-industry funded anti-CWB groups and candidates.
“So the fight for farmers’ right to collective marketing continues,” said Bill Woods, a grain farmer from Eston, SK. It’s a fight over who will capture the hundreds of millions of dollars of additional revenue—farmers or Mr. Ritz’ and Mr. Harper’s friends in the corporate grain trade. But today, we celebrate a victory for farmers. Today we remind ourselves that working together we can win.”
For more information:
Wilf (Butch) Harder (204) 746-5049/8005
Lynn Jacobson (403) 894-5208
Stewart Wells (306) 773-6852 or (306) 741-7694
Bill Woods (306) 460-9599 or (306) 962-4477