The CWB's farmer directors today urged Ottawa to address the dire financial situation for farmers in Western Canada, starting with immediate cash-flow improvements such as higher initial payments.

Ken Ritter, chair of the CWB's farmer-controlled board of directors, told members of the Standing Committee on Finance that Prairie farmers are facing a perfect economic storm that threatens to swamp them all.

"Large, efficient and well-run farms are beginning to fail," he told the committee, in Winnipeg today as part of public pre-budget consultations. "Many farm families, facing an uncertain future, are victims of rising levels of despair as they see their lives crumble around them."

"The current state of affairs is markedly more serious than the already-grim situation of recent years."

Ritter pointed to skyrocketing input costs from fuel and natural gas that have added an estimated $124,000 in costs for a 10,000-acre farm in a single year. He spoke about the rising Canadian dollar that has devastated income from grain sales, compounding low grain prices that have fallen between 13 and 30 per cent from the previous eight-year average. Meanwhile, there have been several consecutive years of poor harvest conditions, along with the BSE crisis.

The CWB, he said, has received an unprecedented number of calls from desperate farmers, with front-line staff members receiving training in crisis counselling.

"The current situation is unsustainable," Ritter said.

The CWB offered several suggestions as to how the government could empower grain farmers and put control of their industry back into their hands, including:

• Measures to maximize farm income and cash flow, including revisiting CWB initial payment levels, which are currently at unreasonably low levels.
• Amendments to farm-income support programs like CAIS, to ensure quick cash flow and accurate valuation of grain.
• Increases to the interest-free portion of federal cash advances.
• Support and protection for marketing arrangements that empower farmers and promote profitability, such as single-desk selling and supply management.
• Aggressive pursuit of Canadian interests in international trade negotiations.
• A review of the regulatory environment to ensure greater competition within the grain handling system, particularly for rail service.
• Strong public sector involvement in research and development that benefits farmers.
• Regulations to ensure responsible introduction of new agricultural products to protect farmers' economic interests.

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 to over 70 countries and returns all sales revenue, less marketing costs, to Prairie farmers.

CWB Presentation to the Standing Committee on Finance-PDF file format