Rolf “A vote for choice is not a vote against the CWB. It is a vote that acknowledges there is more than one way to successfully market barley and that no single way works best for everyone all the time. No two farmers are exactly alike and neither are their business requirements or marketing strategies.”
CWB: There is no more appealing concept than “having your cake and eating it too.” Unfortunately, facing several enormous obstacles (such as having no physical assets) a “strong, viable CWB” just is not possible. Removing the single desk would remove the key competitive edge the CWB leverages in order to maximize returns for western Canadian farmers.
Penner: The CWB clings to the myth that it can’t function without the security blanket of the single desk. That is simply not the case. Many, many successful marketing agencies started and successfully continue to operate without a captive supply chain. At one time, the CWB claimed that it would crumble if all its sales were not pooled. It now offers farmers pricing options outside of the pool, and even brags about them. Yet the sky did not fall. Why should we believe them now?
