Some farmers say they're worried about the confidentiality of ballots in Ottawa's barley plebiscite.

The federal government is asking Prairie farmers if they want to change the way barley is marketed and has sent out ballots with identification numbers that match numbers on voter declaration forms.

Bill Kruzko, who farms near Maple Creek, Sask., is among those who say they're not comfortable with the system.

"They'll know exactly how every producer in Canada voted because it has the identification number at the bottom of the ballot," he said.

There must be other ways of cross-checking information without putting identification numbers on the ballot, Kruzko said.

However, the accounting firm handling the plebiscite insists it's a good system and farmers have no reason to worry about the confidentiality of their votes.

KPMG spokesman Jeff Thomas said the vote is secret, even though there is a number on each ballot that identifies the farmer to whom it was sent.

Thomas, one of several accountants at KPMG who developed the form which allows farmers to declare their eligibility to vote, said it was imperative to have a system that verifies the authenticity of the information.

The firm had to have a way to trace the ballots of those declared ineligible to vote, but even with the identification number, the vote remains secret.

"Certainly with a combination of the information technology controls, the physical access controls, and the procedures that we are using, we can maintain that confidentiality and still provide for an efficient process and a timely tabulation," he said.

Meanwhile, voting for wheat board directors is handled somewhat differently, an official says.

Peter Eckersley, the election co-ordinator for the wheat board's director elections, says they used computer bar codes on the return envelopes.

"The Canadian Wheat Board Act and its related regulations specifically prohibits there being any mark on the ballot which could be used to identify the voter," he said.

However, the act does not apply to plebiscites so the rules could be different, Eckersley said.

The plebiscite asks barley farmers if they want to keep the existing system where the wheat board has a monopoly on barley exports, to stop the board from marketing barley, or to have a choice of marketing their barley through the wheat board or others.

The Conservative government says it's committed to giving "marketing choice" to farmers so they can get the best grain prices, but some farmers believe they already get the best prices from the wheat board and are worried change could hurt their bottom line.

Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl has said a plebiscite on wheat could be held at some point, but not any time soon.

Barley ballots were mailed out Feb. 7 and must be returned by March 13.