The Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture

The Alberta Winter Wheat Producers Commission is supporting the changes to the Western wheat and barley check-off.

The Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada announced on Tuesday that with the new Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act, the Alberta Barley Commission is the new agency responsible for collecting the wheat and barley service charge.  

"The levy was currently being collected by the Canadian Wheat Board," explains AWWPC chairman, Scott Lehr. "So the act just changes who collects the levy, that's the only real change."

The changes averts any funding disruptions that could have occurred when the Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act takes effect on Aug. 1, 2012.

The primary purpose of the act is to end the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly on wheat and barley marketing.

Specific details about the changes to the wheat and barley check-off will come out later this week.