Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz says we could see legislation removing barley from the Canadian Wheat Board's single desk in the near future.

Barley marketing "freedom" was mention in the recent Federal Throne Speech. Ritz says he would like to see legislation tabled as soon as possible. He says, "western Canadian farmers have waited a long time to move forward on barley, since their plebiscite some three years ago, and they are now starting to ask for more than just barley. We will do a synopsis of that and we'll see. Stay tuned."

As for the throne speech, the Conservatives also reaffirmed their support for supply managed sectors and promised to support a competitive livestock industry.