Agriculture committee  We'd consider that to be part of the commercial system.

Agriculture committee  The Western Barley Growers Association is strictly a policy, industry, and producer-grower group. What we see in having any kind of service agreement between the shippers and the railways is an opportunity for them to work together, but if there's a dispute, there has to be some way to settle that dispute so it works in the best interest of the industry but also in the best interests of both parties.

Agriculture committee  Certainly I think there's a role for the Canadian Grain Commission to track the shipments. They are involved in that industry already. As I said, as far as the loading of ships goes, we have to find somebody to track where they're going and what they're loading as the ships come into harbour.

Agriculture committee  No, the money is put up front.

Agriculture committee  Everything's in place to execute the contract, so the contract is carried out.

Agriculture committee  There's a solution that the Western Barley Growers came up with. We did some work on what we call a clearing house project. That is an idea that we concentrated on. It commits both the seller and the person who is buying a product. It commits them to taking the product and also to paying for it, and the seller also makes a commitment.

Agriculture committee  I wouldn't say the Alliance project has fallen through. I think it has been put on hold because of economic conditions and the marketplace. That's a big determinant on what's going to happen in value-added processing. As far as the barley industry goes, of course, Rahr Malting has carried through with its commitment.

Agriculture committee  I think what we've seen, especially in the movement of grain, is that elevator companies have made commitments for export, so they need to get the grain into position and they have worked with the railways. The railways see an opportunity to, in my opinion, move grain more efficiently, so what we have in the marketplace today is targeted deliveries.

Agriculture committee  As you know, the Western Barley Growers Association has worked long and hard on this file to free barley from the monopoly system in which we existed. We have to thank this government for moving forward on a promise and getting us into a truly commercial marketplace as of August 1.

Agriculture committee  You're referring to the barley industry?

Agriculture committee  With regard to some of the challenges in the barley industry right now, I think I mentioned them earlier. I think price discovery is going to become very important. We're moving to a commercial system in which we need good price discovery mechanisms to establish the value of the crop we're growing.

Agriculture committee  No, I don't see a risk. In contracting between buyer and seller, the Western Barley Growers feel that for the commercial marketplace, to work effectively and efficiently and reduce costs, those decisions have to be left up to the people signing the contract. For example, if I'm selling to a customer and we agree to what I'm selling and what the characteristics of it are, as long as I supply the product he's looking for and he agrees to whatever inspection method we might use, whether it's the Canadian Grain Commission or SGS Canada Inc., then as long as we both agree that whatever they find is what we'll agree to, that should work.

Agriculture committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, everybody. I'd like to thank you for inviting me to speak this morning to present the western barley growers' views on some of the challenges facing the barley industry today. Today I'm here as past president of the Western Barley Growers Association, and I currently serve as a member of the board of directors.