94 



Durum is often thought of as something of a 

 specialty crop which has historically enjoyed a 

 substantial price premium over other wheat. 

 Since the CFTA went into effect, that premium 

 has largely vanished, driving U.S. durum prices 

 below the price of hard red spring wheat. In 

 fact, for considerable periods of time, durum 

 prices at the farm level were lower than prices 

 for hard red winter wheat, a situation which has 

 rarely, if ever, occurred before. 



U.S. Subsidizing Canadian Wheat 

 Exports 



There has also been sufficient concern that 

 Canadian durum and other wheat may actually 

 be exported with the benefit of the U.S. Export 

 Enhancement Program (EEP). This concern was 

 strong enough to prompt U.S. Senator Kent 

 Conrad (D-ND) to work for the passage of a law 

 requiring end use certificates for commodities 

 imported from Canada. 



NAFTA will exacerbate Vie problems associated 

 wait higher levels of Canadian wheal imports: 



• High levels of imports of wheat and durum 

 would lower prices received by American farmers. 



BARLEY - A FLOOD IS 

 FORECAST 



U.S. Barley Producers Soon to be 

 on Endangered-Species List 



If the recommendations contained in a report by 

 Colin A. Carter, Professor of Agricultural 

 Economics, University of California, Davis, 

 entitled; "An Economic Analysis of a Single 

 North American Barley Market" are 

 implemented, America's barley growers could 

 encounter the same difficulty as durum 

 producers, and since a large part of the barley 

 produced in the U.S. is grown by the same 

 farmers who produce durum, the result would 

 place these people in double jeopardy. 



In essence, the Carter study suggests that the 

 creation of a single North American barley 

 market would benefit growers on both sides of 

 the border. 



Beyond the Carter study looms the efforts of the 

 Canadian agriculture minister, Charlie Mayer, 

 who is attempting to remove barley from the 

 control of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB). 

 Mr. Mayer's proposed change is slated to take 

 effect August 1, 1993. If barley is removed from 

 the control of the CWB, massive shipments of 

 Canadian feed barley will simply be trucked 

 across the border to local delivery points in the 

 VS. 



• Lower grain prices to American farmers could 

 mean higher costs to American taxpayers due to 

 increased farm program costs. 



• Any Canadian grain exported under EEP is a 

 direct cost to American taxpayers. 



• The importation of large amounts of Canadian 

 grain would glut the American market and 

 necessitate the use of EEP in situations where it 

 might not otherwise be needed 



Keep in mind that the U.S. is not the world 

 leader in barley production. Canada grows 25 

 percent more barley annually than the U.S. As 

 alluded to earlier, the vast majority of the VS. 

 barley production area is in the states of 

 Washington, Montana, North Dakota, and 

 Minnesota-an area directly across the border 

 from the primary barley production area in 

 Canada. Facilities in the U.S. which are 

 accustomed to handling barley are conveniently 

 located for accepting the influx of Canadian 

 barley. 



Since Canada's population numbers roughly 

 one-tenth the population of the U.S., and the 



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