February 18, 2008

Wheat, barley earns highest revenue in West Canada in a decade

Wheat and barley revenues in Western Canada increased to the highest level seen in a decade, according to the Canadian Wheat Board's(CWB) annual 2006/07 report entitled "Farmers First."

A CWB news release said CWB revenues for wheat and barley rose by C$1.45 billion in 2006/07 to sit at C$4.95 billion, with 91 percent of that amount returned to Western Canadian producers. Revenues rose for all four pool accounts - wheat, durum, designated barley and feed barley.

The release also noted production levels came in slightly higher than the five-year average. Quality, meanwhile, remained high, with more than 85 percent of wheat and more than 80 percent of durum falling into the top two grades despite a wet spring followed by drought conditions.

Farmer deliveries into the pools for wheat, durum, designated barley and feed barley totalled 21.5 million tonnes, up 2.7 million tonnes from the 2005/06 crop year level, the report said.

"The net spreads between CWB sales and values achieved by our competitors are impressive: C$6 per tonnes for wheat, C$7.77 for durum and C$13.45 for designated barley," Greg Arason, CWB President and CEO, said.