Grain farmers will see changes in how wheat and barley checkoffs are collected in Western Canada after Aug. 1.
However, the amount they pay to support wheat and barley research will remain the same.
Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz announced May 22 that the Alberta Barley Commission will begin administering a new generation of wheat and barley checkoffs in Western Canada at the beginning of the 2012-13 crop year.
The checkoffs have historically been deducted from farmers’ grain cheques by the Canadian Wheat Board, but changes to the CWB made it necessary to come up with a new check-off collection system.
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The new checkoffs, proposed at 48 cents per tonne for wheat and 56 cents per tonne on barley, will help pay for cereal grain research and the development of new wheat and barley varieties.
Most of the money collected through the checkoffs — 30 cents per tonne on wheat and 50 cents per tonne on barley — will continue to be delivered to the Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF).
About three cents per tonne will be used to cover administrative costs.
The remainder, 15 cents a tonne on wheat and three cents a tonne on barley, will pay for market development work, technical assistance and customer support functions now performed by the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre (CMBTC) and the Canadian International Grains Institute (CIGI).
“What we want to do is backstop the great work done by the Western Grains Research Foundation, by CIGI and by the Malt Barley Technical Institute,” Ritz said.
Under the new check-off system, farmers will contribute roughly the same amount of money to the WGRF, CIGI and the CMBTC, Ritz said.
However, the new collection system will be more transparent and will show farmers exactly how much they are contributing to the three organizations.
Under Western Canada’s existing check-off arrangement, which will remain in place until July 31, farmers pay 30 cents per tonne on wheat, 50 cents per tonne on barley and an additional hidden fee that is deducted from CWB pool accounts.
The new system will be a point-of-sale levy that is deducted from farmers’ grain tickets at all licensed grain handling facilities.
The wheat and barley checkoffs will not be collected on imported grain, producer-to-producer sales and feed or exported grain that is not delivered through a licensed grain handling facility.
The new wheat and barley checkoffs were billed by Ritz as a interim measure that will remain in place for up to five years.
After that, the grain industry will be expected to develop, implement and administer a permanent check-off program.
