“Warriors for Wheat” – A Proud History of the Wheat Growers Chapter 3 – Fair Trade; Free Trade

Contributed

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers are celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2020. As a part of their celebration activities, the history of the past 25 years has been described in a book, “Warriors for Wheat.” Over the next several weeks, each chapter will be highlighted.

Chapter 3 – Fair Trade; Free Trade discusses the history and development of the trade agreements that impact the international trade of wheat and other grains and oil seeds. The role that the Canadian Wheat Board played in these agreements meant that many wheat growers felt that their income was lower than it should have been.

During this time, strong relationships with their US counterparts were also established. These relationships helped to bridge some of the political differences that had evolved. The active involvement of farmers from both sides of the border in negotiations both sped up the final result as well as a stronger agreement for everyone.

Several advocacy positions including the sharing of regulatory science research, resulted in improved long-term positions for both the Canadian and American farmers.

“Warriors for Wheat depicts the voices of reason from grain farmers all across the prairies. Many of the advocacy positions that we have taken historically have since resulted in better agriculture policy,” stated Clayton Kotylak, Saskatchewan Director.

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