The Barley Council of Canada is now a legal entity.
The newly formed council was formally incorporated April 17 and will soon begin the search for an executive director, said council chair Brian Otto.
The council’s 14-member board will include seven representatives from provincial grower groups.
The remaining seven seats are reserved for industry groups representing the interests of maltsters, brewers, feed manufacturers, feed users, grain handlers and exporters, researchers and life science companies.
“This is the first time in history the entire value chain has been brought together from coast to coast on a board of directors,” said Otto.
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“We are proud to move forward as the national voice for barley.”
Otto said the council will take an industry-wide, collaborative approach to building the barley industry.
It will focus on five priority areas: innovation and research, market development, market access, crop production practices and communication within the barley value chain.
The council’s new board of directors held its first face-to-face meeting in Winnipeg earlier this month.
Otto said the council’s next tasks will include developing a funding model to support its initiatives.
He said funding will be based on membership fees rather than producer checkoffs.
Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz met with council members at a ceremony in Ottawa marking the formal incorporation.
“I want to congratulate the new Barley Council of Canada on its incorporation,” Ritz said. “We look forward to working with the BCC to grow a bright future for Canada’s hardworking barley farmers.”
