The Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission (Sask Wheat) and Saskatchewan Winter Cereals Development Commission (SWCDC) are exploring options for potential amalgamation, which would see Sask Wheat assume the mandate of the SWCDC for winter wheat, fall rye, and winter triticale, including research, advocacy, market development, grower relations, and communications activities for these crops.
The first step towards potential amalgamation of the two organizations is to gather the feedback of wheat and winter cereals producers. Producer consultations will take place from January 17 to March 24, 2022, through an online survey. The results of this survey will be presented at the Sask Wheat Semi-Annual Meeting in Regina on Tuesday, June 21, 2022, and posted on each organization’s website. There will be further opportunities for producer consultation in the fall.
Sask Wheat passed a resolution calling for the two organizations to explore options for potential amalgamation at their Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Monday, January 10, 2022. A similar resolution was introduced and endorsed by the producers in attendance at the SWCDC AGM on January 12, 2022, and the SWCDC Board of Directors have decided to proceed in collaborating with Sask Wheat in consulting with producers on the potential amalgamation.
“Expanding Sask Wheat’s mandate to include winter cereals would align Sask Wheat with the Alberta Wheat Commission and Manitoba Crop Alliance, who already have winter wheat in their mandate, thus streamlining research and core breeding funding across the Prairies,” said Brett Halstead, Sask Wheat Chair. “I am looking forward to the feedback we receive from wheat and winter cereals producers during the engagement period, and I encourage them to take part and make sure their voices are heard.”
“We’ve had limited conversations up to this point and it’s very important that we hear from producers before we move forward with any formal discussions about amalgamating the commissions,” said Brad White, SWCDC Chair. “We see some significant benefits to amalgamating, as winter cereals are a small acreage crop. Amalgamation would enable the leveraging of new and heightened research opportunities. We want to know if producers agree and if they have any concerns about this proposal.”
CLICK HERE for the online survey. The link for the survey will be available on the Sask Wheat and SWCDC websites, will be sent in newsletters, and will be shared on Sask Wheat’s Twitter feed.
