RED DEER – An Alberta marketing council that governs 20 agricultural boards and commissions is under review.
The Agricultural Products Marketing Council was established in 1965 to set up boards and commissions and oversee their operations.
The legislation for the council was last reviewed in 1987.
The latest review involves all commodity groups represented by council to see how they can do better business in the areas of marketing, promotions, research and development.
Together, the commodity groups represent about $6 billion in farm sales receipts.
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Some groups have told the government the system is fine, while others want major changes including discussion about the future of the council and its seven member board, said chair Don Macyk.
“Maybe marketing council has to become the governance group or disappear,” he told the Alberta egg producers
Feb. 27 at their annual meeting in Red Deer. All poultry boards come under the wing of the marketing council.
Most of the groups were formed to handle promotion, marketing and research. Funding comes from collecting service fees from producers.
Some groups need more reliable ways to collect levies while others, including Alberta Beef Producers, have a mandatory, non-refundable checkoff on every animal sold.
Council members said they need greater flexibility in investment options in research and they need to be able to collect royalties to invest back into research. They are also taking on more projects like enhanced food safety, environmental concerns and traceability of animals or grains.
Most have limited terms of office for volunteers as one way to regularly bring new people to boards. Some groups said the terms of office should be the same for all the groups. Others wanted better mechanisms to dismiss people.
The marketing council has also started talking with its equivalent in British Columbia to collaborate on mutual issues. If B.C. and Alberta work together, it creates more influence within the national theatre, said Macyk.
