The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) today launched My CWB, a bi-weekly e-bulletin for farmers which serves as a user-friendly guide to topical CWB issues.

The CWB 1-800 business centre fields an average of 13,000 phone calls each month from farmers on a variety of topics. The new e-bulletin sends information relating to farmers' most frequent queries directly to their e-mail inbox.

"Unlike our corporate Web site, www.cwb.ca, which is rich in content and caters to a range of audiences, My CWB focuses strictly on farmers and their needs by matching their telephone queries with online information," said Deanna Allen, vice president of Corporate Communications.

My CWB links to information that farmers identify as a priority, including current Pool Return Outlook data, updates about the Producer Payment Options (PPOs), weather highlights and market analysis. Users are also able to electronically send feedback such as questions or comments to the CWB. The inaugural issue of the e-bulletin also features a profile on CWB agro-meteorologist Guy Ash.

The e-bulletin represents a further step in the expanding range of online services offered by the CWB, which include electronic contracting and electronic cash advances.

While surveys show that nearly 70 per cent of farmers check their e-mail at least once a week, most farmers live outside of urban centres and don't have access to high-speed Internet. My CWB offers a basic, no-frills design which will enable farmers to access the information they need from the CWB in a timely manner.

"It's important to build a tool that works with what farmers are already doing," Allen said. "We don't want farmers to have to fit into our e-services mould – we want our e-services to fit their routine."

The e-bulletin is available free to all CWB permit book holders and was developed at no cost by the CWB's internal web experts. Farmers interested in receiving My CWB can sign-up on-line at www.cwb.ca or by e-mailing mycwb@cwb.ca

Controlled by western Canadian farmers, the CWB is the largest wheat and barley marketer in the world. As one of Canada's biggest exporters, the Winnipeg-based organization sells grain to more than 70 countries and returns all sales revenue, less marketing costs, to Prairie farmers.