Evening star., 1947-10-15
"Cof1tror in Canada
Wheat Production Lags
North of the Border as
Price Peg Irks Farmers
With Grain Worth $1.35 vs.. 50
In u. S., They Trim Plant
ings 1920 Below 1910
Free" Rye Acreage Up 1920
BY JOHN A. McWErHY

BY JOHN A. McWETHY
Ssd6 Correspondent Of THn WALL STREET JOURNAL
WINNIPEG-How to turn 4 bushel OF
wheat into = bushel Of rye is being demon.
strated here in Canada.
Also: How to protect farmers into q
mood for producing less of the major bread
cereal.
It's tale Of government control over
grain prices and marketing. And it might
make good bedtime reading" says one Cana
dian wheat man, "for any U. s. officials who
may be now toying with the idea of clamping
sharper restraints on free markets because
Of rising prices"
When the war ended, Canada's govern
ment decided to keep its grains sternly in
hand. The only exception was rye. Snug
price ceilings were held over kingpin wheat
and the other lesser cereals. Rye was left
free
Pain In Grain
The result has been ironic and painful
With the worst wheat hunger Of modern times
gripping the globe, and with southern-neigh-
tor u s. expanding its wheat fields vastly,
Canada's farmers this year actually planted
10eo fewer acres to wheat than in the peak
war year Of 1910.
But it's been different with rye. Fancy
free rye has tripped lightly up the price lad
der. And this year Canadian farmers, being
able to distinguish q dollar from doughnut,
planted some 1870 more acres in rye than
they did in 1e4s. Grain experts say they will
open the rye production throttle further next
year.
This IL true despite the strong natural
disinclination Of farmers to convert wheat
lands to rye. Reason for reluctance: The
rye, once planted on patch Of land keeps
popping up year after year. like dandelions
in your front yard, whether you want It
or not.
The Canadian farmers wheat price pains
10 back to July Of last year. At that time
Canada agreed to sell Britain 800 million
bushels Of wheat-practically the total Cana
dian export supply-over q period Of four
years.
when the agreement was negotiated,
everyone thought there would be bust,
says the manager of q big grain firm here
"The air was thick with pessinaisn." So, to
"protect' the farmer, Canadian officials In
cluded in the pact with England the proviso
that the British buying price for two years
would be $1.55 bushel. britain has recently
agreed to pay 81 after August /, 194s)
Canadian pessimism at the time was fur
ther indicated in the stipulation that the Brit
ish buying price in the third year Of the agree
ment would be at least $1.25, and In the fourth
year at least 81.
But the downward trend In world wheat
prices didn't pan out" AZ expected. World
prices skvrocketed. The Canadian farmers
anrotaction" became a chain about his neck.
Worth So In Chicago
In order to deliver the wheat to England
at $155, the Canadian government pays the
farmers q fixed price Of $1.35 bushel on
delivered -at-Ft William basis. Wheat in Chi
cago brings s.. But that doesn't help Cana
dians. All their wheat must be sold through
their government.
Over the first year Of this "farmer-pro-
tecting" agreement, world wheat prices aver
aged n cents q bushel over the 155 paid by