Barley breeding programs across Western Canada could be at risk if funding issues facing the Western Grains Research Foundation aren’t soon resolved, say WGRF officials.
“We need to move on this, and obviously the sooner the better,” said WGRF executive director Lanette Kuchenski.
The farmer-run research organization receives its funding through a 50 cent per tonne checkoff on barley from Canadian Wheat Board final payments and 30 cents on wheat.
If barley is removed from the CWB’s single desk, an alternative method of collecting the checkoff would be required.
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During the past year, WGRF officials have raised the issue with federal government officials on at least six occasions, four times by letter and twice in face-to-face meetings with the wheat board minister.
To date, the response has been disappointing.
“Everything has been very, very vague,” said Kuchenski, saying she doesn’t even know if the government sympathizes with the foundation’s situation.
That may change soon.
The foundation was notified in early March that it would be hearing from someone in Ottawa by the end of the month, although no more details were forthcoming.
Kuchenski said she considers it a good sign that the government seems ready to talk.
“It certainly would be nice to get some sort of indication what their thoughts are,” she said.
Last year, the foundation got a taste of how its funding could be affected.
In anticipation that an open market for barley would be implemented Aug. 1, 2007, private traders sold 800,000 to 900,000 tonnes of barley outside the board.
As a result, the foundation is short $400,000 and $500,000 in potential revenue.
The foundation wants the government to reimburse it for that lost revenue.
The WGRF usually collects about $800,000 a year from the barley checkoff, depending on the amount of grain marketed through the wheat board.
The foundation uses that money to fund barley breeding programs at Agriculture Canada and the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre.
Because it maintains a barley reserve fund of about $1.5 million, the flow of money would not be immediately reduced.
However, officials warn that could change if the $400,000 shortfall is not made up and if barley is removed from the board without an alternative check-off system in place.
Kuchenski said the issue has taken on added urgency with the recent announcement by the Alberta Barley Commission, which operates its own barley checkoff, that it is abandoning malting barley breeding programs in favour of feed varieties suitable for ethanol.
“If we don’t get barley funding to continue public breeding of new varieties, I’m not quite sure who will step up to the plate,” she said, adding the malting and brewing industry has shown no interest in investing in breeding programs.
The foundation has identified legislation under which the checkoff could be administered.
Kuchenski noted the federal government’s October 2006 taskforce report on grain marketing recommended that the federal government provide three years of transition funding to the WGRF, along with several other CWB-funded industry organizations, in the event an open market is brought in.
She said the government has given no indication whether it intends to abide by that advice.
Kuchenski emphasized the foundation wants to work with the government to resolve the funding issue and not have it become caught up in partisan politics or the CWB debate.
