SaskCanola & SaskFlax Address Amalgamation Survey Feedback
As directed by member resolutions at the January 2023 Annual General Meetings (AGMs) of both the Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission (SaskCanola) and the Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission (SaskFlax), the two commissions are engaged in a consultation process with growers regarding a potential amalgamation.
An online survey is currently underway for growers to respond to from July to mid-Nov 2023. To date, farmer respondents are overwhelmingly supportive of amalgamation. In the communications piece below, we aim to address additional feedback received from survey participants.
There was a variety of perceived benefits and some themes emerged:
Both Commissions have common needs and strengths:
SaskFlax issues could be addressed by an expanded staff complement;
policy issues are often the same for all grain farmers (not commodity specific), therefore a merger would provide greater efficiencies in advocacy efforts;
and a single organization would reduce overhead and administrative costs resulting in a greater portion of levy dollars invested into research priorities.
Stronger research for both crops:
Increased investment in flax variety development;
more research into flax production including weed control;
further investigate extreme health benefits of flax;
and crop rotation research opportunities.
A broader scope to access ag initiatives for research and market development.
Oilseed producers need alternatives to heavy canola rotations and flax has synergies in terms of oilseed marketing and crop rotation.
Power in numbers. One stronger voice for oilseed farmers.
To expand on this a bit, research remains a fundamental priority of both commissions. To ensure priorities for both crops are met effectively, canola and flax sub-committees would review and recommend new research projects to the Board to be funded by the respective commodity levies. Instead of resources being put into keeping separate communication channels going for each crop, the amalgamation provides an opportunity for streamlined communication – one annual report, one website, one newsletter, and the list goes on.
A few cautioned that one hurdle could be that new breeding practices are not fully embraced in some markets (ie. genetically engineered crops in Europe). However, canola and flax are two different crops with two different uses and markets.
Canola variety development is currently carried out by private companies, and this was the result of market opportunities that those seed manufacturers realized. Currently, the canola levy is invested in research that will advance the crop, but also research that results in knowledge and processes that are made available to farmers and other scientists on a widespread and public basis.
Flax is a niche crop and relies heavily on public plant breeding with significant investment from producer levies. The flax levy would continue to support these breeding efforts and encourage public investment in the crop to ensure the breeding programs are working towards new varieties that farmers can incorporate into their rotations and potentially expand flax acreage in Saskatchewan.
Market development efforts would remain separate strategies, funded by each respective crop. Overhead costs reduced by amalgamating would allow more levy dollars to flow directly into research and market development initiatives.
Concerns were raised that a niche crop like flax could be marginalized by the magnitude of canola as a crop. The reality is that SaskFlax is supportive of this amalgamation for fiscal reasons. The crop is too small to continue to maintain an individual organization with professional staff and still have dollars to invest in the future development of flax as a crop. To mitigate these concerns, clear regulations identifying flax as a priority for flax levy dollars, a strong and effective board, rigorous and regular strategic and business planning, staff dedicated to the flax portfolio, and an engaged base of levy payers who participate in advisory roles, grower meetings, and the Annual General Meeting.
SaskCanola directors represent farmer interests and its in the best interest of farmers to have multiple crops to grow profitably. The biggest agronomic threat to canola production is shortened rotations. Flax has been and should be in the future a viable option to stretch crop rotations.
Contrary to the previous sentiment, other respondents expressed that flax could be a distraction for canola and result in a loss of benefits for canola farmers. The single organization would be staffed appropriately so that each commodity receives the attention it needs/deserves. The efficiencies of shared resources and process will allow for better focus on the individual issues of each crop. Being responsible for multiple commodities will allow for a more wholistic approach to representing farmers and the crops they grow. There are several examples of this, including Sask Pulse Growers, Grain Farmers of Ontario, and Manitoba Crop Alliance, to name a few. The current boards and staff take farmer input very seriously. We would continue to look to levy payers for feedback at grower events, through advisory roles, and at the Annual General Meeting. We also always encourage farmers to stay engaged by visiting our website regularly and subscribing to our e-newsletter and texting service for push notifications, where we share in real-time how we are providing multi-faceted value for levy dollars back to growers.
Farmers advised that it is critical that levies collected remain separately allocated for each respective crop and the Commissions want to reassure farmers, that is the plan. Levies would be collected and tracked individually for each crop type, effective August 1, 2024. The regulations would clearly articulate this, and the Board of Directors would be responsible for prioritizing and allocating funds appropriately towards canola and flax research, advocacy, and market development.
This Fall in preparation for the January AGMs, the two Boards will be having thoughtful discussions to narrow in on how to transition into a single organization and how to ensure that resources are effectively managed, including:
Development of a clause in the regulations to ensure a minimum number of flax farmers are on the Board at all times
Respecting term limits of existing directors, with provisions that allow them to fulfill their tenure
Consider the role of advisory committees to support decision-making at the Board level on specific flax and/or canola priorities
Updating the regulations to explicitly outline the mandate of both crops under one organization, ensuring that the flax levy would be invested in initiatives that would develop the flax industry and the canola levy would be invested in initiatives that would develop the canola industry; recognizing that both levies would need to contribute a reasonable proportion to cover operational expenses based on their respective revenues. This would be determined by the Board of Directors and reviewed annually in the audited financials at the Annual General Meeting.
In summary, we have generally heard positive responses from farmers through the survey and in conversations some levy payers have had directly with the Board and Staff. The online survey (see button below) will close on November 17, 2023. With the continued support of levy payers feedback, amalgamation resolutions will be presented at the AGMs of each organization on Tuesday, January 9, 2024 (registration opens Nov 1st). Should the resolutions be accepted, both commissions will work with Agri-Food Council to amend regulations with a target date of August 1, 2024 for amalgamation into a single commission.
SaskCanola is a producer-led organization, established in 1991 and supported by 17,000 levy-paying Saskatchewan canola producers. SaskCanola’s mandate is to provide value to canola producers through research, advocacy, and market development.
SaskFlax is a producer-led organization, established in 1996 and supported by 3,000 levy-paying Saskatchewan flax producers. SaskFlax’s mandate is to lead, promote, and enhance the production, value-added processing, and utilization of Saskatchewan flax.