Amalgamation consultations begin this summer

The catalyst

What started as a trial-run in 2017 for the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) and Alberta Barley to operate two commissions with one unified staff, led to a formal resolution brought forward during regional meetings in late 2018 calling for a “comprehensive review of the potential to formally merge the Alberta Wheat Commission and Alberta Barley and if appropriate, conduct a producer plebiscite to obtain member approval for a merger.”

This resolution was then passed at the annual general meeting (AGM) of both commissions in 2019. The proof was in the pudding. Alberta farmers were pleased with the joint operating model of the two farmer-led commissions.

To back-up a step and for historical context, this was not always the way of the two commissions. Prior to 2017, AWC and Alberta Barley were two separate organizations that only shared an office space and finance and administrative staff. Now, although AWC and Alberta Barley formally remain two separate organizations, they share management and staff meaning they equally allocate human resources including the general manager, chief operating officer, director of research, markets, communications, policy, agronomy and extension expertise.

Better Together

The amalgamated staff led to a new era of collaboration and the realization of numerous cost-saving synergies. This new working model also gave the commissions the ability to add or enhance programs and initiatives that would benefit farmers. A prime example of this is the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions’ growing agronomy extension portfolio supported by programs such as The Growing Point newsletter, In the Field webinars, Plot2Farm on-farm research trials, and our WheatStalk extension events. The commissions identified a gap in the then Alberta farming landscape, and decided to pursue building a boots-on-the-ground agronomy portfolio that would give farmers unbiased agronomic information year-round.

It did not take long before a new and fitting mantra arose for the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions: Better Together. While some core program areas and priorities remained separate based on the commodity such as research and market access based on end-use, many other synergies and affordable sharing opportunities surfaced. Both commissions have heightened their kids’ education efforts by sharing a new enhanced, interactive booth called Wally Wheat and Betty Barley’s Grain Gallery. The commissions also developed a shared, quarterly newsletter that gets mailed to all Alberta wheat and barley levy-payers, which was a high-priced endeavour prior to amalgamating resources. The commissions have also embarked on other new, joint ventures such as The Blue Book, the virtual Malt Academy, Agronomy Update, the Prairie Cereals Summit, amongst others.

Future direction

To ensure a thorough and democratic process, the commissions formed a sub-committee to guide the ongoing amalgamation exploration work. The sub-committee is comprised of a selection of current and past board members, delegates and regional representatives from both AWC and Alberta Barley. A key objective for the sub-committee was to draft a model of a proposed amalgamated governance model for wheat and barley farmers’ consideration during the consultation period.

The proposed governance structure consists of one farmer-led board of 12 directors representing wheat and barley farmers from six regions in Alberta. Meaning, there would be two directors representing each region. There would also be four delegate positions for each region, resulting in a delegate body of 24 farmers.

As currently established for both commissions, research would remain the top priority for the proposed amalgamated organization and funding will be merit-based. AWC and Alberta Barley check-off would also remain the same at $1.09 per metric tonne for wheat and $1.20 per metric tonne for barley.

Provide your input

The future of the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions remains to be determined by our farmer stakeholders. This is where we need Alberta wheat and barley farmers’ help! The consultation is not a formal plebiscite but as part of a democratic process, the commissions want to gauge farmers’ opinions on the possibility of formally merging into a single organization.

If you are an Alberta wheat or barley farmer, do not miss this opportunity to contribute your input during the summer and fall of 2021. Farmers are encouraged to visit albertawheatbarley.com to access a short online survey which will be available at the beginning of July, along with more information on future online town hall events in late October as another forum for input.