Dear Editor
Most farmers will have by now received their voting packages for the 2010 CWB director elections in District 5. Farmers need to be aware of the candidates views on various issues, but more importantly the value of the single desk.
How important is the single desk? Now, we have some real life examples that illustrate what happens when that mandate is lost. In less than 24 months the Australian Wheat Board is now not owned by farmers but by multinational companies. In Ontario, since becoming voluntary, their board is handling only a fraction of the grain it once did. This need not happen here.
Farmers need a strong organization that not only commands premiums in the marketplace, but one that can speak for them on issues like transportation costs, the ability to load producer cars and quality concerns. They need an organization that can brand Canadian wheat and barley as the best in the world and deliver that value back to farmers. Without that single desk authority none of these things would be possible.
The single desk is in essence the backbone of the CWB. Without it you would have only a shell of an organization unable to do much for farmers. The choice for farmers is clear - their own organization that works to maximize returns for farmers or an open system based on maximizing returns for grain companies."
Allen Oberg
District 5 CWB candidate
Forestburg, Alberta
