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Producer direct sale
The CWB's Producer Direct Sale (PDS) offers even more marketing choice to western Canadian farmers who want to sell their wheat and barley directly to customers.
Prairie farmers have built a reputation for themselves and their product that allows the CWB to capture single desk premiums both domestically and around the world. Through the CWB single desk, farmers sell into these markets together, so they can offer customers a consistent, high quality product and ultimately, enjoy higher returns than they would get selling individually.
The PDS provides farmers with the opportunity to take advantage of marketing opportunities that they identify on their own, without undercutting each other and destroying the power of the single desk.
When conducting a PDS, the CWB quotes what it is getting for a similar product in a particular market on a given day (known as the cash price). Farmers then pay this cash price to the CWB pool. The CWB will then pay the farmer the initial payment, and over time, will pay the total value of the grain received by all farmers in the pool. The result of this transaction means farmers can earn the pool price, plus the additional premium they are able to negotiate with a buyer.
The PDS ensures farmers sell at prices as least as high as those the CWB can demand, which gives farmers marketing choice, without undercutting prices and lowering returns for all farmers, including themselves.