The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association fully endorses the decision by the federal government to transfer administration for the advance payment program for wheat and barley to the Canadian Canola Growers Association.
“It makes sense to bring the cash advance program under one roof,” says Kevin Bender, President of the Wheat Growers. “It will result in a one-stop application process for most prairie farmers and eliminate the duplication we now see.”
The move will relieve the Canadian Wheat Board from the responsibility of administering the cash advance program for wheat and barley by August 2012, and allow it to concentrate its efforts on becoming an effective marketing option for farmers.
“This move will give the CWB the ability to focus all of its efforts on competing for our grain on the same day that western farmers gain an open market for wheat and barley,” says Bender. “It’s appropriate for the government to transfer this program to a non-profit, rather than leave it in the hands of what will then be a private business.”
