Alta. commissions seek farmers’ merger input

Provincial wheat and barley commissions in Alberta are asking farmers for their thoughts on formally merging the two commissions.

The Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) and Alberta Barley plan to launch consultations this summer to solicit farmer views on a potential amalgamation.

The two commissions have been operating with one management team since 2018 but they still have separate boards and separate financial structures.

The farmer consultation will begin in July with an online survey. That will be followed by online town hall events in October, after harvest has been completed.

Additional information sessions will take place during regional meetings in November.

“We’ve been using a unified management structure since 2018 so we’re already sharing our resources…,” said Tara Sawyer, an Acme, Alta., grain grower who also serves as chair of Alberta Barley’s board of directors.

“Our two organizations have a lot of cross connecting initiatives… and we already do a lot of things together (because we have) a combined staff.”

The consultation with wheat and barley farmers stems from resolutions that were passed at the 2019 annual general meetings for both the AWC and Alberta Barley.

The resolutions challenged the two commissions to complete a comprehensive review of a formal merger.

“What started as a pilot project in 2018 to merge the management and staff of Alberta Barley and AWC has resulted in meaningful efficiencies and cost savings for both organizations,” Sawyer said.

“Through collaboration, the commissions have leveraged synergies, removed duplication and in turn expanded key priority areas such as research and agronomic extension.”

However, Sawyer emphasized that the farmer consultation being launched this summer is the first step in a process.

If the consultation suggests there is adequate farmer interest, then a formal plebiscite would also be held, probably early in 2022.

“This (the consultation) is just the initial step that we’re taking to gauge farmers’ opinions on the possibility of a governance amalgamation.”

The commissions have already formed an amalgamation sub-committee comprised of current and past directors, regional representatives and delegates from both commissions, Sawyer said.

That committee has developed a model of what an amalgamated governance structure might look like.

Details of that model will be shared with growers during the consultation.

Sawyer said the proposed governance structure would have one board of directors, consisting of 12 farmers that represent the interests of both wheat and barley growers.

The 12-member board would consist of two elected directors from each of six regions in Alberta.

There would also be four delegates from each region, comprising a delegate body of 24 growers.

Research, market development, agronomy and extension, policy advocacy and farm business management would remain top priorities for the proposed single organization and funding would be merit-based.

“Currently, the commissions operate with separate governance structures, yet share a management team that reports to both boards,” said Todd Hames, who chairs the AWC.

“It’s up to Alberta wheat and barley farmers to determine whether this is sustainable or if merging is the path forward. We encourage wheat and barley growers to learn more and get engaged in the consultation process.”

Alberta wheat and barley farmers can expect the online survey to go live at the beginning of July.

Farmers can learn more by visiting wheatbarleyconsultation.com, where they can subscribe to receive consultation updates as the process moves ahead.

It is expected that a formal merger would allow the two commissions to realize additional savings, although Sawyer said an estimate of potential cost savings has not yet been established.

The decision to share a management structure — made three years ago — has already allowed the two commissions to save an estimated $350,000 annually, she added.

Those savings have been redirected into programming that’s focused on agronomic extension activities, research and communication initiatives.

The commissions say research would remain “the top priority for the proposed amalgamated organization and funding would be merit-based.”

AWC and Alberta Barley checkoffs would remain the same at $1.09 per tonne for wheat and $1.20 per tonne for barley.

However, check-off rates would be subject to review by the first board of the combined organization.