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January 23, 2008 Vol. 33 No. 25  
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Producers not buying new barley pricing


By Kevin Ma
St. Albert Gazette

Barley growers and maltsters panned the Canadian Wheat Board’s new barley pricing scheme this week, calling it a poor imitation of an open market.
The wheat board released its long-awaited new price plan for malt barley last week. Called CashPlus, it was supposed to appeal to farmers who wanted more leeway in how they sold their crops without breaking the board’s monopoly over barley sales. All malt barley grown in western Canada must be sold through the Canadian Wheat Board. The board says it can get farmers better prices by acting as a single source or desk for barley. Board critics believe they can make more money selling on their own.
Last year, the federal government, supported by many Alberta farmers, tried to remove barley from the board’s control so farmers could sell on the open market. The federal court ruled that the government did so illegally and quashed the move. The government will appeal the ruling on Feb. 26.
CashPlus gives farmers more flexibility when it comes to price setting without sacrificing the security of the single desk, says Allen Oberg, the wheat board’s District 5 or northeast-Alberta director. Right now, the board sells barley to maltsters and pays farmers at the end of the year based on the average price they received. This meant that farmers would often wait months before finding out what they made from their sale, which critics said made planning tough. Under the new system, the board would give farmers a guaranteed minimum price beforehand based on market rates.
“It will be much more upfront and more responsive to what the market is doing,” Oberg said.
Farmers will deal directly with maltsters and can demand a higher price if they wish. Farmers still get their cash at the end of the year, but will get extra if the market price ever rose above the board’s price. Farmers can also sell under the old pool system if they want, Oberg adds.
Phil de Kemp, president of the Malting Industry Association of Canada, which represents the buyers of about 60 per cent of the board’s barley, also opposes the price plan.
“It just doesn’t work,” he said. “It does not allow the farmer to receive the full benefit of the price transaction.”
Local Alberta Barley Commission chair Albert Wagner panned the proposal. “It’s just an imitation of an open market.”
Maltsters and farmers want a system with clear price signals so they can decide what to plant and where to buy, Wagner said. Canola is sold on an open market, he said as an example, so farmers can look at the price and decide what to plant. With barley, the board interferes with this signal by setting a base price, making it tougher to figure out which crop is the best investment.
“The wheat board does nothing in there except control the price,” he said. “We still don’t see where they’re adding value.”
An open market would let farmers take advantage of price spikes to make more money, Wagner said.
“Does that mean you’re always going to get the best price if you’re on your own? Absolutely not, but you make the decision for your own farm.”
Oberg argued that maltsters want an open market because it will give them lower prices.
“One seller can command a better price than 20,000 individual farmers,” he said.
He admitted that opposition to the board’s plan is an obstacle to its operation, but said that the board will offer it on a limited basis even without support.
If the board will let farmers negotiate their own price for part of the deal, Wagner said, they should let them negotiate the whole deal. He called on the federal government to remove barley from the board’s control as soon as possible.
“I will not grow malt barley as long as I have to deal with the Canadian Wheat Board,” he stated.


In this issue...

Howarth a hit



Voice of the Jays wows crowd at Dawgs’ banquet
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Larger Than Life


Local artist honouring Canadian heroes
See Entertainment

 
Look up, way up


Ken Kunz stands beside his large inuksuk that he built on his land just outside of Okotoks. The rock sculpture has become a local landmark and Kunz has plans to build the largest inuksuk in the world.
photo by Blair Braitenbach

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Town prepares for reservoir hearing

By Tamara Neely
staff reporter

A long-awaited hearing regarding Turner Valley’s raw water reservoir will take place next week. The Town of Turner Valley was granted approval to construct the reservoir from the province but a resident, concerned about contamination, initiated an appeal in October 2006.
Despite the reservoir having been completed in November, the hearing to address the appeal of its construction will finally take place on Jan. 28 and 29.
The appellant Roxanne Walsh, the Town of Turner Valley and a representative of Alberta Environment will all make presentations before the Environmental Appeals Board.
Walsh is looking forward to making her presentation. Though she’s been concerned about the pollution in Turner Valley since 2001, she said, “I was particularly interested in the site chosen for the reservoir because of the past pollution in the area and the lack of information (historical documentation of waste disposal practices),” said Walsh. “Because this is our drinking water, the water we bathe in.”
The main concern is the reservoir is adjacent to the decommissioned Turner Valley Gas Plant.
Walsh is making four main recommendations.
That a synthetic liner be used; that the parameters for testing to be expanded in consideration of the historic use of the site; that the two wells situated in the berm of the reservoir be abandoned and have reclamation certificates issued; and that the reservoir to be covered to protect from airborne contaminants.
“There was some concern about what engineers call drift in terms of contamination found in the reservoir with the winter and spring runoff. Drift is affected by the air and our town is surrounded by sour gas flares.”
Stan Ogrodniczuk, chief administrative officer with the Town of Turner Valley, is looking forward to the end of this process.
“It’s been a long road and a huge amount of work and it’s nice to hopefully have the final hearing, so we can deal with other things that are important, aside from that.”
The Town has had several experts in multiple fields examine the issues of the reservoir to ensure the safety of its construction.
“Alberta Environment has experts in the same fields and they feel the Town has performed due diligence. So both sets of experts agree that the raw water reservoir was built properly with proper safety measures to allow the reservoir to be used for the purpose it was built.”
Ogrodniczuk said that the Town would like to test the raw water stored in the reservoir over one year and this will show how the water is affected better than the speculations and model building of experts.
The board is independent from government agencies and members are appointed because of their technical expertise in environmental matters.
There are three specific questions the Town and Alberta Environment will be addressing at the hearing, that will speak to the potential contamination of the water supply in the raw water reservoir and particularly if the contamination can come from the clay liner, explained Gilbert Van Nes, the general counsel and settlement officer with the Environmental Appeals Board.
1. Is the Amending Approval sufficient to protect the Town of Turner Valley’s water supply from contamination to ensure a safe water supply?
2. Is using clay from the site as a liner for the raw water storage reservoir the best practicable technology to protect the stored raw water from contamination arising from previous industrial activity?
3. Was the testing, investigation, and remediation of the site prior to and during construction adequate to identify risks from possible contaminants onsite, including the possible contamination of onsite clay used for the construction of the liner?
The board will have 30 days to make its recommendation to Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner. From that point the minister typically makes his final decision within 30 days.
The hearing is open to the public and will be held at the Turner Valley Golf and Country Club. It will run Jan. 28 from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Jan. 29 from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

 

 

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Published Wednesdays at Okotoks, Alberta, Canada. Serving the communities of Okotoks, Aldersyde, Black Diamond, DeWinton, Longview, Millarville, Priddis, Turner Valley, Bragg Creek, and the rural ratepayers of the M.D. of Foothills. And now the World. Established August 3, 1976.