Release of grains and oilseeds merger vote on hold

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

by SUSAN MANN

It’ll likely be another two to three weeks before farmers know the outcome of an historic vote to establish a single organization representing soybean, wheat and corn growers.

Elmer Buchanan, acting chair of the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission, says the results have been tabulated and studied by the commission then forwarded to Ontario Agriculture Minister Leona Dombrowsky along with the commission’s recommendation. It’s the commission that conducted the vote.

“We’re not in a position to say anything until we get a decision from the minister,” Buchanan says.

The plans to form one organization representing corn, soybean and wheat growers began four years ago when the chairs of the three boards signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The current chairs re-signed the memorandum in April.

An estimated 29,000 farmers were eligible to vote on this question: ‘Are you in favour of a single marketing board for corn, soybeans and wheat described as ‘Grain Farmers of Ontario’ in the enclosed information summary?’ The mail-in vote was held between Sept. 9 and Sept. 30.

Currently only two or three commission staffers and the commission members know the results. Even the representatives from the working group, made up of officials from the corn, soybean and wheat organizations that developed the plan, don’t yet know the vote’s outcome.

That’s true, says Leo Guilbeault, chair of the Ontario Soybean Growers board. But he’s very curious to know how farmers voted. Other farmers are “calling every day wanting to find out also,” he says.

Guilbeault says they were hoping the results would be out by the end of this month and he’d be very disappointed if they weren’t announced sometime during the week of Dec. 8, which is when the commission has its next meeting.

Buchanan says he expects the announcement to be made either by that time or possibly sooner.

OMAFRA spokesman Brent Ross says typically it’s the commission that releases the results of farmer votes and “I believe it’s going to be sometime before the end of the year.”

Guilbeault says they don’t have any idea how the vote will go. He’s talked to farmers who voted ‘yes,’ and some who voted ‘no,’ and to those who didn’t vote. One thing he’d really like to know is how many farmers voted. BF