A pair of Prairie farm groups are calling on the newly appointed federal agriculture minister to block a Canadian Grain Commission decision to impose export grade standards on wheat delivered to country elevators.
The National Farmers Union (NFU) and the Wheat Growers Association (WGA) sent a joint letter to federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAuley, who was just sworn into his new post as part of a cabinet shuffle, contending the CGC ruling will have a “massive and long-term negative impact on prairie wheat farmers’ incomes.”
The two groups said the official export grades for bulk wheat when it is loaded into ships are slightly higher than the benchmarks for country elevators. Thus, a load of wheat that would have otherwise graded as a No. 1 and fetched a higher price under the old system, may now be graded lower and see a resulting downgrade in price. The CGC’s new requirements are set to take effect on Aug. 1, at the beginning of the 2023-24 crop year.
The Canadian Grain Commission sets standards and specifications for grades of grain but is supposed to do that based on recommendations from the Western Standards Committee. According to the two groups, virtually all of the producers who sit on the committee, which also includes processors, exporters and government representatives, voiced their opposition to the change in the grade standards.
Both the NFU and the WGA are urging MacAuley to put a halt to the impending grade standard change immediately.
Source : Syngenta.ca