Like many farmers I was looking forward to the total freeing of the barley market from Wheat Board control on August 1st. When the decision to make all forms of barley a dual market crop was announced, prices went up, which was good news for farmers. When the judge ruled that the Wheat Board would retain its malt barley monopoly for one more year, prices went down, bad news for farmers.

While the technical reasons for the price plunge may vary (one analyst I read said the buyers no longer had to worry about competing for barley to sell to the lucrative offshore market) the core reason is quite simple. Barley buyers no longer have to compete directly to get the barley from farmers. This is something that should concern everyone who wants a prosperous agriculture sector.

Now I understand why the overpaid bureaucrats and directors of the Wheat Board don’t want higher prices. (I mean lets face it, for many of them, their real goal is to protect their jobs, not to get farmers higher prices. Considering a director can make over $100,000/year, one has to wonder at some of the directors’ objectivity.) I do however have a problem grasping why any farmer would object to the higher prices which the market was obviously willing to pay.

The other problem I have with the critics of higher prices and freer markets is their willingness to ignore farmers’ votes. Now while critics of the CWB have always said the issue was freedom and freedom should not be voted on, the so called friends of the CWB always said they supported farmers having their say. Well, farmers voted, and they voted for a dual market in barley, so now it is time for the CWB cheerleaders to put their money where their mouth is and back a dual market for barley.

Unlike the CWB directors I don’t have a financial stake in the CWB. I do come from a farm background and I do want my family, friends and constituents who farm to make as good a living as possible from the farm. I’m tired of farmers getting the cheated of their livelihood by people who only care about themselves.

I’m Brad Trost your Member of Parliament in Saskatoon-Humboldt. Please call my office in Saskatoon at 975-6133. I always appreciate your feedback.