A judge has ruled the federal agriculture minister breached the Canadian Wheat Board Act by not turning first to farmers before he moved to end the board's monopoly.

Justice Douglas Campbell issued his ruling in Winnipeg.

"Had a meaningful consultative process been engaged to find a solution which meets the concerns of the majority, the present legal action might not have been necessary," stated Campbell.

"I find that the act was intended to require the minister to consult and gain consent where an addition or subtraction of particular grains or types of grain from the marketing regime is contemplated, and also in respect of a change to the democratic structure of the CWB," wrote Campbell.

Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz unveiled a bill in October aimed at ending the CWB's monopoly on wheat and barley by next August. The bill has already made it on to the Senate for consideration.

Ritz, meanwhile, said the government intended to move ahead.

"We will proclaim it into law before the end of this year to bring certainty and clarity to farmers, to the industry overall and to, of course, our customers domestically and abroad," Ritz said in a conference call.

Liberal Leader Bob Rae demanded the bill be shelved with the matter before the courts and the NDP also spoke out.

Pat Martin, the NDP critic for the Canadian Wheat Board, said the government should "put the brakes" on the bill if it has "any respect whatsoever for the parliamentary process."

The Harper government said it would appeal the judge's ruling.

Members of the Canadian Wheat Board are scheduled to appear Thursday before a Senate committee.

"It's so important to get farmers' opinion and it seems to me that Mr. Ritz wasn't interested in getting farmers' opinion - that's why they went ahead and tried to steamroll this thing through," said Bill Toews from the Canadian Wheat Board.

"I hope that the federal government respects farmers and respects the law and does the right thing by holding a plebiscite," he said. 

- with a report from CTV's Lindsay Warner and files from The Canadian Press