In a bid to gain access to high-value markets in Europe and Japan, the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) is planning a pilot project to market organic wheat grown by a Canadian farmers' cooperative, reports the CBC. The initiative is slated for the 2006-2007 crop year, and if successful, the Wheat Board will start marketing all organic wheat.
Canadian Organic Certification Cooperative secretary Bill Rosher says that growers have long sought a program that would improve the way that organic grain is marketed, and are devoting resources to ensure that the initiative will be a success.
Currently, farmers who produce organic wheat market it themselves, or sell to accredited exporters. Under the voluntary program, reports Discover Moosejaw, the CWB would market the wheat overseas, and participating farmers would receive a pooled return and organic premiums.
The Canadian Wheat Board is currently one of Canada's biggest exporters of wheat and barley, according to Seedquest. It markets and sells grain to more than 70 countries and returns all profits, minus the cost of marketing, to Prairie farmers.
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