Not surprisingly, the National Farmers Union is front and centre:
Stewart Wells, president of the National Farmers Union, is an outspoken critic of what he sees as Strahl's attempts to dismantle the board.
"I wonder why they stopped at three questions (on the barley plebiscite)," Wells said. "They may as well have asked if farmers would like to sell their barley to little green men from Mars for $200 a bushel."
Wells believes that would be just as valid as the second statement on the plebiscite that reads, "I would like the option to market my barley to the Canadian What Board or any other domestic or foreign buyer."
It amazes me that our mainstream media continue to give credence to these kinds of smear tactics while at the same time casting aspersion on those who support choice. The final paragraph of the article is a real doozy:
Ballots will be mailed out to barley producers by the end of the month, but the campaign to influence producers has already started. A slick website called www.barelyvote.ca is sponsored by something called the Market Choice Alliance.
Ok, "a slick website", "something called the Market Choice Alliance"; yep we must be "scary conservatives" with a "hidden agenda". This type of reporting makes me sick. It abandons any pretense of objectivity. I still hold out hope that the barley campaign will be a reasoned and reasonable debate about what is best for barley farmers, but if this is the way the media chooses to cover the issue, it seems unlikely.
