Producers Vote to Establish Commodity Board

Prince Edward Island cattle producers have voted in favour of establishing a commodity board. There were 146 votes in favour of the proposal, with 85 opposed. The results were released today by Murray Myles, returning officer for the cattle plebiscite.

The plebiscite was conducted by the Prince Edward Island Marketing Council at the request of the Cattlemen’s Association. In April, the Council circulated the Association’s proposed marketing plan to registered producers. Producers were asked to vote on the formation of a commodity board under the Natural Products Marketing Act. The Association is currently a commodity group.

Mr. Myles said that 364 producers were registered to vote, and a total of 240 ballots were mailed on or before the deadline. He said that 14 ballots were received after the deadline. There were eight invalid ballots and one spoiled ballot. “Based on the proposed marketing plan, 62.9 percent of producers voting in the plebiscite indicated support for the formation of a commodity board for cattle producers,” he said.

Mr. Myles said the next step is for the Marketing Council to assess the results and discuss them with the Cattlemen’s Association. The Council will then decide whether to recommend the formation of a cattle commodity board to the Lieutenant Governor in Council.