MBC120202

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LOW RATE FERTILIZER GOOD PLAN?

CATTLE GROWTH IN 2012

But cutting corners too much can effect yield » PAGE 17

The good news and the bad » PAGE 35

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

SERVING MANITOBA FARMERS SINCE 1925 | VOL. 70, NO. 5 |

Sights, sounds and smells in a far-off land

MANITOBACOOPERATOR.CA

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CHECKS

First impressions of ancient, diverse country

and BALANCES

By Laura Rance

NEEDED POST-CWB

T

he sun was just peeking above the horizon as the Boeing 777 banked south just over Cairo, Egypt and headed for Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital that serves as the hub for all of Africa. We’d been travelling ahead in time, losing a night as we left Washington, D.C. at around 11 a.m. on Saturday, flying 13 hours non-stop and landing at our destination at 8 a.m., nine hours ahead of the clocks back home. The air felt heavy as we stepped from the plane, which is odd because we were step-

KAP committee looking for answers to issues being created by move to an open wheat and barley market

Don Dewar, chairman of an ad hoc Keystone Agricultural Producers committee looking at issues in a post-single-desk system, speaks to farmers. PHOTO: SHANNON VANRAES

See ETHIOPIA on page 6 »

By Shannon Vanraes CO-OPERATOR STAFF

Publication Mail Agreement 40069240

W

ith the end of single-desk grain marketing in sight, producers and farm organizations are focusing on filling in the gaps and supporting a stable transition to an open market. “ T h e re a re m o re q u e s t i o n s t h a n answers,” said Don Dewar, chairman of an ad hoc Keystone Agricultural Producers committee looking at issues grain producers will face in the open market. The committee is looking at non-marketing functions once handled by the Canadian Wheat Board, as well as producer cars, the Port of Churchill, country-of-origin concerns, and futures contracts, Dewar told delegates at KAP’s annual general meeting.

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“I think we know there is no such thing as a free market, so we know that some of the grain companies are going to exert significant control on how we do business,” said Dewar. “And the fear is, that without checks in place, it’s possible major grain companies could restrict business operations or producer car shippers or the voluntary wheat board.” To prevent that outcome, the committee hopes the Competition Bureau will play a role in regulating the industry as changes occur, and it is looking at ways to encourage the bureau’s involvement. KAP president Doug Chorney spoke to farmers about the future of producer cars, based on his observations as a subcommittee member of the nation-

“One of the key competitive disadvantages that I see in my role on the committee, is the multi-car incentive and how that favours highthroughput and inland terminal shipping points.”

DOUG CHORNEY

See POST-CWB on page 7 »

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