The federal government has announced details of the revamped producer check-off for wheat and barley research and market development.

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz says the Alberta Barley Commission will administer the voluntary check-off, which until now was managed by the Canadian Wheat Board.

"Where it used to come out of the pool accounts, it's now going to come out at point of sale for wheat and barley," explains Ritz. "It's still a voluntary check-off. If someone decides they don't want to fund research, then they can ask for their money back."

Ottawa plans to have the Canadian International Grains Institute, Western Grains Research Foundation and the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre receive similar levels of funding as prior to the changes to the CWB.

"This will maintain their funding going forward. We're seeing about 4 million more acres of wheat and barley go in this year than we've seen other years, so we actually have the potential to increase that tonnage," says Ritz.

Ritz says the new check-off will be more transparent than the program administered by the CWB.

"Historically, this just came out of the pool accounts. You really had no idea how much and when. Now it's being done at point of sale, so when you get your receipt for your wheat, durum, or barley that hauled, the check-off will be right there on your receipt," he explains.

This check-off will last up to five years, after which it will be up to the industry to have developed its own system for funding research and market development.

Further details will be published in the Canada Gazette later this week.

"This is just one more thing to get off my list before August 1st," Ritz says. "The transition is moving along well."


Background (courtesy AAFC)

The Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act, which received Royal Assent last December, removed the Canadian Wheat Board’s (CWB) authority to collect a check-off to fund wheat and barley variety research as of August 1, 2012, and authorizes the development of regulations for implementing a voluntary check-off to support wheat and barley research, market development and technical assistance.

The Government’s intent is that the Canadian International Grains Institute, Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF), and the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre receive similar levels of support when marketing freedom is fully implemented on August 1, 2012. This will be done in a manner that is fully transparent to farmers, who will see the full amount of this support on their cash purchase tickets when they deliver their grain. In the past, support was provided through a combination of producer check-off (transparent to farmers) and direct grants from the CWB pool accounts (non-transparent to farmers as these lowered the final payment for all farmers).

The new regulations establish a voluntary check-off for research for wheat and barley delivered to licensed grain buyers issuing a cash-purchase ticket.

The check-off will be applied to wheat and barley grown in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and the Peace River District of British Columbia, and delivered to a licensed facility where a cash purchase ticket is issued. It will not apply to imports, producer-to-producer sales, and feed and exports not delivered through licensed facilities.

Producers will be able to request a refund of the check-off if they wish. Historically, the average percentage of producers requesting to opt out of the WGRF check-off has been approximately five per cent.

The regulations will not impede the development of additional check-offs under existing provincial and federal regulation.

The proposed regulations are available on the Canada Gazette website and will be published in print in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on May 26, 2012. Prepublication of the Canada Gazette gives various interested groups and individuals, as well as Canadians in general, a final opportunity to review and comment on a proposed regulation at the last stages of the regulation-making process, before it is enacted and published in Part II of the Canada Gazette.

The proposed regulations will remain open for comment for a 30-day period.

This check-off is temporary and will last up to five years, after which it will be up to the grain industry to have developed and administered its own check-off, if it considers this to be a priority for the sector.