WESTERN PROVINCES UNITE TO SUPPORT MARKETING CHOICE FOR BARLEY

Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. back Ottawa's effort to deregulate barley

Agriculture ministers from Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. have sent their support to federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz as he meets with grain industry representatives to discuss ending the Canadian Wheat Board's (CWB) monopoly on barley sales.

On January 29, Ritz will meet with a number of key stakeholders in the quest to remove barley from under the single desk marketing authority of the CWB. These groups include the Western Grain Elevator Association, the Western Barley Growers Association, the Alberta Barley Commission and the CWB itself.

"Saskatchewan farmers expressed their desire for marketing choice in the barley plebiscite," Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Bob Bjornerud said. "Marketing choice will provide a platform for growth in the barley industry."

"My colleagues and I are proud to support Minister Ritz's continued efforts to provide marketing choice to barley producers," Alberta Agriculture and Food Minister George Groeneveld said. "Marketing opportunities are being lost everyday and it's vital that Alberta's barley producers be able to market their product to anyone they choose. We've asked them directly, and they have told us loud and clear - they want marketing choice."

"Providing flexibility to western barley producers in how they market their products would allow for new opportunities in niche markets," British Columbia Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell said. "I stand behind B.C. barley producers, who have called for choice in how their product can be marketed, and thank Minister Ritz for leading this initiative."

In a plebiscite held in March 2007, 62 per cent of barley producers voted to remove the CWB's monopoly on barley sales. On July 31, a Federal Court ruling stopped the Canadian government from removing barley and barley products from the single desk marketing authority of the CWB.

Bjornerud and Groenveld have confirmed that they will be attending the January 29 meeting.

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For more information, contact:

Alberta Agriculture and Food
Media Line
Edmonton
Phone: 780-422-1005

Scott Brown
Saskatchewan Agriculture
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4031

Liz Bicknell
BC Agriculture and Lands
BC
Phone: 250-356-2862
Cell: 250-213-3072