By paNOW

Canadian Wheat Board criticized in animated YouTube video

Nov 29, 2010 | 12:43 PM

Another viral video is making the rounds online, but this one is different from your run-of-the-mill parody.

On YouTube, you can find a video criticizing the Canadian Wheat Board’s single-desk marketing system and accusing it of trying to keep grain prices low. It even suggests the wheat board’s system is somewhat communist.

A user named “TheSaskFarmer” has posted the scathing computer-animated clip featuring two characters — one representing farmers, the other standing in for the wheat board. The video takes an ironic and, at points, humourous look at the CWB, such as this exchange:

“I do not want a low price for my grain,” the farmer says.

“You sound like a greedy farmer who does not appreciate all the intangible advantages to marketing through the board,” responds the wheat board staffer.

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“I cannot take intangible advantages to the bank to pay my bills,” the farmers quips back.

The video has amassed almost 16,000 views since it was posted on Nov. 22. It also has 75 “likes” compared to just seven “dislikes” on YouTube’s video rating system.

But Maureen Fitzhenry, a spokesperson with the CWB, argues it’s a misleading portrayal.

“It goes on to talk repeatedly about how the wheat board’s goal is to get the lowest prices it can for grain, which is ridiculous given that farmers are the ones who control and direct the wheat board,” Fitzhenry said.

“We hear this kind of thing all the time. There’s just so much that’s inaccurate.”

Fitzhenry won’t dispute that the video is gaining popularity. But she said it’s a sign that the relatively new medium of online videos is an efficient way of getting a message out to the public.

She pointed out that the CWB has been on YouTube for a while, and it’s trying to get its own messages out through the popular website.

To view the video click here