CWB looking to recognize "Master Growers"

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

Everybody knows Canadian prairie farmers grow the best grain in the world. This year, the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) will once again be recognizing the “best of the best” through its 2006-07 Master Grower awards program.

CWB agronomist Mike Grenier explained what the awards are all about. “The Master Grower program is our way of recognizing the achievements of Canada’s prairie grain farmers,” he said. “It rewards top producers and allows their knowledge to be shared with the rest of the Western Canadian grain industry.”

Here’s how the program works: farmers submit a grain sample from this year’s harvest to the CWB. Samples are inspected by both CWB and quality experts, and judged on visual quality, end-use market suitability and crop management practices. The producers whose entries achieve the highest overall scores in these three categories are designated as Master Growers. They receive a special leather and melton wool jacket, a recognition plaque and an invitation to attend a unique Canadian International Grains Institute course as part of their award.

But Grenier noted there’s more to the honour than that. “There’s a lot of pride in being named a Master Grower. You can see it on the faces of the award recipients each year,” he said.

“These producers are really part of an exclusive club of the most successful farmers. As a result, the CWB also attempts to share the crop management techniques and practices of these growers with other producers in the industry.”

For the 2006-07 crop year (beginning August 1, 2006 and ending July 31, 2007), Master Grower awards will be handed out for four classes of cereal grains: malting barley, select red winter wheat, hard white spring wheat and durum.

Farmers can obtain entry forms and envelopes to send in their samples from their local CWB farm business representative, from elevator companies or by phoning 1-800-275-4292. More information on the Master Grower program can also be found on the CWB website at www.cwb.ca, under the “Growing Grain” heading.

The 2006-07 CWB Master Growers will be announced at the GrainWorld outlook conference in Winnipeg in February 2007.

Grenier said Saskatchewan producers have traditionally done very well in these awards, noting that four of the 10 Master Growers named last year were from the province.

Controlled by Western Canadian farmers, the CWB is the largest wheat and barley marketer in the world. As one of Canada’s biggest exporters, the Winnipeg-based company sells grain to more than 70 countries and returns all sales revenue, less marketing costs, to prairie farmers.

For further information, contact:

Maureen Fitzhenry, Manager of Media Relations
Canadian Wheat Board
Phone: (204) 983-3101
Website: www.cwb.ca