Farm groups pleased with CGC's decision to repeal grading changes

Farm groups are coming out in support of the Canadian Grain Commission's decision to repeal its plans to change the primary and export tolerances for test weight and total foreign material for various classes of wheat and Canadian Amber Durum.

The change would have come into effect on Tuesday but the CGC said its backing away from the move after hearing stakeholder concerns.

Last week, the National Farmers Union and the Wheat Growers Association called on Minister MacAuley to stop the move as it would have a substantial and negative impact on farmer incomes.

Wheat Growers chair Daryl Fransoo says they're pleased with the fast response to their appeal to Minister MacAulay and the CGC’s acknowledgment that this was opposed by the majority of Canadian farmers.

The NFU called the  CGC's change of heart a win.

Glenn Tait, NFU member, and CGC Western Standards Committee member, noted that the CGC had acted against the opposition of virtually all of the farmer members on the Standards Committee—seeming to align with grain companies against farmers. 

He adds that at no time did the CGC ever provide evidence that this move was necessary or beneficial to farmers.

The Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission says this is good news for western Canadian wheat producers who would have borne the costs of the change through downgrading and lower prices based on the tighter export tolerances for these grading factors. 

They add it's also good news for all Canadian grain producers as it demonstrates that focused advocacy by producers can bring positive results.

Sask Wheat and APAS were among the farm groups calling on the CGC to reverse its original decision. 

APAS president Ian Boxall says it was a key concern for farmers.

"APAS heard from producers who had signed contracts under the current test weights and were concerned these sales would be assessed against the higher standards after harvest."

He notes they were pleased to see that the CGC was listening to producer concerns.

"We thank the CGC for responding to these concerns and providing certainty as we approach the harvest season. The CGC and its standards committees play an important role in our industry and APAS strongly supports a CGC mandate to work in the interests of grain producers."