The provincial government has reinstated the powers of the Saskatchewan Broiler Hatching Egg Producers Marketing Board, 11 years after they were taken away.
The power to deal with quota and industry disputes was assigned to the agriculture minister In May 2000 and then delegated to an administrator.
Roy White, who has been the administrator since 2008, said the issues in 2000 were largely of governance and policy. There was also infighting among producers.
“We figured things will get better in a few months,” he said of the thinking at the time.
However, Chicken Farmers of Saskatchewan, which lost its power at the same time, did not develop the capacity for effective governance until 2009.
The Saskatchewan Turkey Producers’ Marketing Board lost its powers in February 2007 and was also reinstated in 2009.
In 2000, then-agriculture minister Clay Serby said the quota allocation process, which was part of a 1998 agreement to double chicken production in Saskatchewan, was not proceeding because of friction between the CFS and the broiler hatchers board.
White said new people entering the industry has changed the composition of the boards.
“Some of the old battles have been set aside,” he said last week.
Four producers were elected to a new board last fall.
“I was instructed to make sure that the capability was improved to the point where we could return the powers,” he said. “I feel pretty confident they’ll do a good job.”
Eleven broiler hatching egg producers in the province supply 70 broiler producers.
