Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Opening salvo

As a wheat farmer, the last six months have been incredibly frustrating. Commodity prices moved higher, wheat was the one crop on our farm that had decent yields, and yet here we sit, our bins full of wheat and no cash in my pocket to show for it. What did farmers talk about instead of marketing wheat? They talked politics. They talked about whether a government-created marketing board should have the privilege of marketing our grain. They talked, as they have for years, about the Canadian Wheat Board.

I hope you can hear the frustration in my voice. I hope you can understand how ennervating it is to be mired in debate when dollars are slipping through our fingers. The title of this blog, 'The Designated Area', is borne out of this frustration. I hope it reminds us of the arbitrary and unfair manner in which the Canadian wheat and barley business is regulated. Hopefully you all stay tuned for more reaction and comment, criticism and praise, that comes straight out of the designate area.