Alberta moves closer every day to a voluntary CWB, so practically, what would it take?
Fortunately for Alberta, the Creston, British Columbia grain farmers have already found a way to make the CWB monopoly voluntary under the present CWB Act!
In the early 1980’s the Creston farmers needed to ship south into Idaho, as wheat prices were much higher, and rail service at the CWB elevator in Creston was atrocious!
Mr. Cyril Colonel was the President of the grain growers association in Creston that negotiated the exemption from the CWB Monopoly.
I was told by Mr. Colonel that they asked to be totally removed from the designated area, but the CWB said this could not happen unless 100% of the grain growers in the Creston valley agreed with Mr Colonel and his growers.
As the Mr. Colonel knew that they would not get 100% agreement with the growers to remove the CWB, he and his group agreed to the option that the CWB offered them instead.
Creston would stay in the CWB "Designated Area", but any wheat or barley growers that wanted to be exempted from CWB marketing would be given no-cost export licenses, with exemptions from all CWB quotas.
Each year Colonel and his compatriots would still fill out their CWB permit books, and when harvest was finished they would declare the production they had harvested from their farms.
The CWB would then promptly issue no-cost export licenses for the total production of each farm, as declared by each grain producer.
As they wheat or barley was hauled south to the US, Canada Customs would reduce the export licence by the amount of the loads hauled to the US until they had finished.
Why did the CWB do the exemption this way?
My speculation is that this Creston system gave the option to Creston farmers who still wanted to sell through the CWB the opportunity to do so though producer cars, or by trucking it to Vancouver or Alberta and delivering it to the CWB if they so desired.
The CWB can allow these same exemptions today for Alberta wheat and barley producers through a no-cost export licence system.
Canadian Processors could have these no-cost export licenses applied to their export of wheat and barley processed products, Just as the CWB does for Canadian "designated area" feed mills shipping to the US today.
The CWB also does this now for seed growers shipping seed wheat and barley to the USA.
Isn’t it about time the Voluntary CWB that exists today for so many exempted “designated area” grain growers be extended to the rest of us?
In Alberta, now we know an overwhelming majority (82%)support a Voluntary CWB, why shouldn’t the same exemption that was given to Creston, be given to Alberta grain growers and processors?
Fortunately for Alberta, the Creston, British Columbia grain farmers have already found a way to make the CWB monopoly voluntary under the present CWB Act!
In the early 1980’s the Creston farmers needed to ship south into Idaho, as wheat prices were much higher, and rail service at the CWB elevator in Creston was atrocious!
Mr. Cyril Colonel was the President of the grain growers association in Creston that negotiated the exemption from the CWB Monopoly.
I was told by Mr. Colonel that they asked to be totally removed from the designated area, but the CWB said this could not happen unless 100% of the grain growers in the Creston valley agreed with Mr Colonel and his growers.
As the Mr. Colonel knew that they would not get 100% agreement with the growers to remove the CWB, he and his group agreed to the option that the CWB offered them instead.
Creston would stay in the CWB "Designated Area", but any wheat or barley growers that wanted to be exempted from CWB marketing would be given no-cost export licenses, with exemptions from all CWB quotas.
Each year Colonel and his compatriots would still fill out their CWB permit books, and when harvest was finished they would declare the production they had harvested from their farms.
The CWB would then promptly issue no-cost export licenses for the total production of each farm, as declared by each grain producer.
As they wheat or barley was hauled south to the US, Canada Customs would reduce the export licence by the amount of the loads hauled to the US until they had finished.
Why did the CWB do the exemption this way?
My speculation is that this Creston system gave the option to Creston farmers who still wanted to sell through the CWB the opportunity to do so though producer cars, or by trucking it to Vancouver or Alberta and delivering it to the CWB if they so desired.
The CWB can allow these same exemptions today for Alberta wheat and barley producers through a no-cost export licence system.
Canadian Processors could have these no-cost export licenses applied to their export of wheat and barley processed products, Just as the CWB does for Canadian "designated area" feed mills shipping to the US today.
The CWB also does this now for seed growers shipping seed wheat and barley to the USA.
Isn’t it about time the Voluntary CWB that exists today for so many exempted “designated area” grain growers be extended to the rest of us?
In Alberta, now we know an overwhelming majority (82%)support a Voluntary CWB, why shouldn’t the same exemption that was given to Creston, be given to Alberta grain growers and processors?