Although Alberta Milk is facing an unpredictable market in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is one thing it can now control.
It recently received approval to amend the Alberta Milk Plan Regulation, giving it the power to create its own bylaws. It means it can change how it governs itself without involving the provincial cabinet, said chair Steve Boeve.
Boeve said regulation changes used to mean having to light a fire under provincial officials, a process that took 11 years in the case of the transition to bylaws.
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“You’ve got it all ready to go. You’ve got producers all on side, the board is on side, we have a delegate system, they’re all on side,” said Boeve.
“And it can sit on the government table for a year — and that’s exactly what happened in 2011 — and then it doesn’t get dealt with, so now if we want to make a change, there’s just a lot less to go through.”
The move was recently approved by the Alberta Agricultural Products Marketing Council, which is a provincial agency that supervises Alberta’s farm marketing boards and commissions. The decision was made as part of the provincial government’s red tape reduction initiative, said Boeve.
As a result, Alberta Milk has reduced its number of directors to nine, down from 11, he said. However, if the board later changes its mind, “it’s one meeting with the marketing council, go to our producers and say, ‘is that good with you?’ If we get approval from both, we’re done.”
The increased power comes as Alberta Milk grapples with challenges, such as the ongoing fallout from the pandemic.
“It’s all over the place,” said Boeve about the current market. “It used to be really predictable, and now it’s totally unpredictable and that’s part of the problem.”
Processing plants that had become specialized to provide specific products and package sizes are facing a dilemma, he said. For example, consumers forced to work from home due to pandemic restrictions were no longer heading into the office, meaning they weren’t stopping at restaurant chains to get their daily coffee with cream or milk.
Alberta Milk general manager Freda Molenkamp-Oudman said although many consumers have returned to formal workplaces with the lifting of restrictions, things aren’t quite the way they used to be. Many employers have reached compromises with their workers, allowing them to work two or three days a week from home.
As a result, the direction the market will ultimately take remains unclear, said Boeve.
“And the processors really are not sure what the next six months will even bring, so then as producers, we have to deal with that as well.”
