Prairie farmers are divided over the future of the Canadian Wheat Board, with some arguing they would get better prices without the board and others saying they would lose money if the board ceased to exist.

'I think the loss of the wheat board would be the biggest loss that Canadian farmers have ever had.'-Farmer Glenn Norman

On Monday, Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl announced that farmers who grow barley will have three options when they vote on a plebiscite on the future of the Canadian Wheat Board.

As many as 75,000 farmers in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba will be eligible to vote in the non-binding plebiscite, to be held between Jan. 31 and March 6.

Reaction to Strahl's announcement in Red Deer was divided among a handful of Alberta farmers who were on hand to hear the details.

Glenn Norman, who farms east of Bowden near Red Deer, said the vote is the first step towards getting rid of the board, which he feels would be a mistake.

"This is just a death by a thousand cuts by a minister who has got no love for it whatsoever and doesn't want it even to exist," Norman said.

"I think the loss of the wheat board would be the biggest loss that Canadian farmers have ever had. It would be a setback back to the '30s."

'This has been a socialist agenda that has been pounded into people's heads since the '30s.'-Farmer Tom Jackson

Tom Jackson, who farms near Sherwood Park east of Edmonton, disagreed. He said he thinks he could get a higher price for his barley without the board.

"This has been a socialist agenda that has been pounded into people's heads since the '30s. The wheat board has spent millions of dollars brainwashing growers."

Farmers have three choices

One of the choices on the plebiscite is maintaining the current "single desk" system, in which the board is responsible for exporting barley. A second option says the board should have no role in barley marketing.

A third says farmers who want the option to sell their barley to the Canadian Wheat Board or any other domestic or foreign buyer should be allowed to do so.

Jeff Nielsen, the president of the Western Barley Growers Association, said most barley producers will vote for the third choice because they want the option of selling outside the wheat board, which he predicts will still remain strong.

"As a producer myself, I want choice. The way that there is only a small portion of the barley market that the board controls, it's an easy given that farmers will vote for choice."

'…A bunch of freeloaders will have the freedom to run around behind our backs and cherry pick the spot market prices.'-Ken Larson

Ken Larson, who farms near Rimbey, predicted the wheat board wouldn't survive in such an environment because it has no infrastructure to handle grain.

"What this plebiscite is saying is hey, those of us who support the Canadian Wheat Board will hold the price on grain, will set a retail price, will hold it, will meter it into the international market. And a bunch of freeloaders will have the freedom to run around behind our backs and cherry pick the spot market prices."

Expect battle for votes: prof

Murray Fulton, an agricultural economist at the University of Saskatchewan, said farmers should be prepared for a battle for their votes.

"What are we going to see between now and when the ballots are mailed out — and a period after that — is some very, very intense campaigning on both sides to try and convince farmers to move one way or the other."

University of Calgary professor David Taras said holding a plebiscite on the issue gives the Conservatives some cover.

"I think they are getting quite nervous about not offending the base," he said. 

"Certainly with the wheat board, there was a sense, well, we have an ideological perspective, but when the tires hit the road, we aren't sure how people feel, so [there is] the notion of the plebiscite."

Sask. government favours single desk

Saskatchewan's Deputy Premier Clay Serby said the provincial government will encourage farmers to vote to retain the single desk for barley.

Farmers who produced grain last year or grew barley at least one year in the past five are eligible to vote in the plebiscite.

Of the estimated 70,000 to 75,000 farmers eligible to vote, about half live in Alberta, 40 per cent in Saskatchewan and the remainder in Manitoba.

Strahl said earlier in January there will be a similar plebiscite on wheat but it's not going to happen any time soon.