Competition helps farmers

[chaffmeister]

Competition stimulates innovation, encourages efficiency, and drives down costs (prices). According to microeconomic theory, no system of resource allocation is more efficient than pure competition. Competition, according to the theory, causes commercial firms to develop new products, services, and technologies. This gives consumers greater selection and better products. The greater selection typically causes lower prices for the products compared to what the price would be if there was no competition (monopoly) or little competition (oligopoly).

If that doesn't work for you in some positive way, willy, I'm not sure what would.

[skhadenuf]

I agree wilagro, everyone that has potential to grow barley should be included to vote, obviously the outcome of the vote may change market factors for barley, therefore will influence decisions farmers make to grow it or not in future.

[chaffmeister]

Don't stop there. Perhaps any vote should be based on arable acres. Crops compete for acres - what impacts on crop will have an impact on the others. Studies have shown that CWB pricing and logistics policies (low initial, contract calls) depress other non-CWB crops as they are used for cash flow.

[kamichel]

Perhaps some farmers don't grow barley because of the itch factor and never will grow barley so why should they vote and if they did I don't see how that would help the monopoly side. We could argue who can vote till we are blue in the face, how about letting everyone in Canada vote so then the vote can be scewed by endless bullshit by the CWB.

[skhadenuf]

Well I know of alot of canary seed growers that vowed never to grow that itchy stuff and when the price hit 30 cents a pound, every pound of seed was gone. If we the ones who wanted a vote because we felt it was our democratic right start to eliminate certain types of farmers ie acres farmed, crops grown etc. then we become as much dictators as those we wanted to change. I'd rather include some that may not grow it in order to include those that legitimately might. Furthermore you don't have to grow barley to have this vote affect your farm. The consequences of this vote could affect how many acres are shifted to and from barley, therefore directly affects other crops.
As far as bullshit goes if we are going to limit the voter list to only those that support our view we are no better than those we are challenging.
And you are right not everyone in Canada should vote on this issue, but those entitled to should.