Three farm organizations say it’s time to give farmers more say in Canadian Grain Commission operations now that producers are footing a larger share of its budget.
Representatives from the Canadian Canola Growers Association, Grain Growers of Canada and the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association are pushing for a new governance model that gives farmers more input.
“If farmers are going to be paying the bill, then we’d like to see … some sort of structure where we can have more say in what’s going on,” said Grain Growers of Canada president Stephen Vandervalk.
Read Also
Government, industry seek canola tariff resolution
Governments and industry continue to discuss how best to deal with Chinese tariffs on Canadian agricultural products, particularly canola.
“A lot of fees are being downloaded onto the farmer … so we’re just asking questions and we want to make sure that we’re getting value for our money.”
The groups say farmers must be given a more prominent role in determining how the commission is managed and how revenues are allocated, considering that farmers’ user fees are expected to cover 90 percent of the CGC’s annual operating costs in the next few years.
New user fees set to take effect Aug. 1 will cost farmers and other industry stakeholders an estimated $54 million in 2013-14, up from $37 million now.
At the same time, Ottawa’s contribution to the CGC budget is expected to decline to $5.4 million per year, down from $37 million currently.
Vandervalk said the grain commission plays a critical role in maintaining Canada’s reputation as a producer of high quality grain.
However, farm groups wonder if resources could be used more efficiently if the private sector provided some services at a lower cost.
Vandervalk said there is also a perception that the commission has a top heavy management structure.
Representatives from the farm groups met recently with CGC officials and have requested a breakdown of CGC staffing levels to determine if staff reductions are possible and if restructuring might result in significant cost savings.
Todd Hames, president of the Canadian Canola Growers Association, voiced similar concerns.
“We’d certainly like to see some changes to governance,” Hames said. “Farmers can’t control costs if they’re not sitting at the board table.”
Last month, Hames, Vandervalk and Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association president Levi Wood co-signed a letter addressed to federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz, raising concerns about CGC governance, staffing levels and cuts to the CGC’s Grain Research Laboratory.
The farm groups say cuts to the lab could come at a significant cost to farmers and the Canadian grain industry as a whole.
“While we appreciate the efforts to reduce costs, we are concerned about cuts to the GRL,” the letter said.
“The GRL is a core division of the CGC, which provides significant value to farmers, Canadians and our international markets.”
A copy of the letter can be viewed on the Grain Growers of Canada website at www.ggc-pgc.ca/.
