Wheat Board Controversy Put to Rest

Jun 19, 2012

The Federal Court of Appeal ruled that Ottawa did not break the law

The controversy over the existence of the Canadian Wheat Board has been stirring since the Conservatives had promised to end the monopoly when they came into power. On Monday, the Federal Court of Appeal overruled that Ottawa did not break the law when it stripped the Canadian Wheat Board of its monopoly, touting that there is nothing to prevent the government from changing its own law in Parliament.

“I have found nothing in the record which leads to the conclusion that the repeal of the single desk as a whole or of the [Canadian Wheat Board Act] in its entirety were somehow made conditional to obtaining the prior consent of the CWB or of grain producers,” Justice Robert Mainville wrote in the ruling.

This was after a lower court had ruled back in December that Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz legally should have held a plebiscite vote among farmers before introducing the legislation. The monopoly over grain in Western Canada has been a safeguarded since the 1940s with farmers obliged to sell their wheat and barley directly the board. Putting an end to the wheat board has been on the Conservative agenda chopping block some time, and they have always maintained that farmers should have the option of selling their grain independently to whomever they choose.

But the reactions have been mixed with some farm groups commending the government’s decision, noting that farmers can get better prices on the open market, while supporters of the monopoly including wheat board directors and some producers arguing that they lose marketing power allowing producers to be at the whim of large grain handlers. Minister Ritz wrote in a statement that “farmers are moving forward and contracting their wheat and barley with buyers of their choice for delivery beginning Aug. 1, 2012.”

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.