As the new Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) Directors meet this week for the first time since the 2010 CWB election, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) sent an open letter to the Board outlining its members’ concerns on customer service and the need for marketing change.
New CFIB survey results were also released in a report, Time for a New Vision at the CWB, which summarizes the views of CFIB’s 1,900 Prairie farm members on marketing change. This report follows a recent report card on customer service and farmer feedback on Producer Payment Options (PPOs) and programs like CashPlus. “It is evident growers need more consistent, timely, accessible and transparent marketing signals in order to make the best possible marketing decisions for their farm,” said Virginia Labbie, CFIB’s senior policy analyst for Agri-business.
“Farmers have raised some significant concerns about the current services offered by the CWB,” added Labbie. “The new Board has a lot of work ahead to address customer service issues and ensure it is meeting producers’ evolving needs. The fact that 83 per cent of CFIB agri-business owners want the option to market their wheat and barley outside of the CWB should be a call to action.”
Western Canadian farmers indicate CWB’s performance shows room for improvement:
• Overall service not making the grade – When asked how the overall service of the CWB has changed during the past 5 years, 45 per cent of Prairie farmers indicated there had been no change or it had worsened, while 35 per cent said it had improved.
• Specific customer service issues are in need of attention – In rating five aspects of CWB staff (such as consistency and promptness of responses), 20 to 30 per cent of respondents rated these customer service essentials as “poor” and only half said they were “acceptable.”
• Farmers very dissatisfied with PPOs and CashPlus programs – 60 per cent of respondents were very or somewhat dissatisfied with the 2009-10 Basic Price Contract for wheat and the 2009-10 FlexPro Producer Payment Option for wheat. Another 59 per cent of respondents were very or somewhat dissatisfied with the 2009-10 CashPlus program for malting barley. Direct feedback from producers reveals these programs are complicated, not transparent, poorly communicated and inaccessible.
• Voluntary participation – 83 per cent of farmers said they should have the option to market their wheat and barley outside of the CWB. Respondents said they would have access to better market signals, greater opportunities to niche market their products and greater control of the profitability of their farm business.
CFIB will also be sharing these results with the Hon. Gerry Ritz, Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board to ensure he is aware of CFIB farm members’ appetite for change. “We hope the Federal government will deliver on its important commitment to bring barley marketing freedom to Western Canadian farmers,” noted Labbie.
“Given the Board is directly answerable to farmers, it is clear the CWB cannot keep operating at status quo,” added Labbie. “Our members are expecting the new Board of Directors to roll up their sleeves and deliver some results for producers in 2011,” concluded Labbie.
