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Fall
2017
grainswest.com9
BY ALLISON FINNAMORE
Photo:Canadian InternationalGrains Institute
Japanese customers check out samples of Canadian wheat at the Cigi pilot mill.
Cigi is also viewed as an important re-
source for clients working with the value
chain to both develop the products their
customers demand and provide technical
support for end users. Cigi market support
activities for 2017/18 include plans for
technical training programs in countries
such as Singapore, Peru, Mexico, Japan,
Indonesia, Algeria and Morocco. As well,
new crop missions are also planned for
multiple European, Asian and Latin Amer-
ican countries.
Steve acknowledges farmers can some-
times think of the grain elevator as the
customer and may forget to take a broader
look at where their wheat goes next. This
is the stage at which Cigi thrives, promot-
ing the sale of Canada’s grain abroad.
“The wheat market is the international
customer. Cigi is a really important re-
source that’s changing, and we’re confi-
dent it’s going to add to our value proposi-
tion to our customers,” Steve said.
He views the new Cigi board structure
as a tremendous advantage in the building
of a collaborative marketplace. “Cigi is a
critical element to that market support
and market expansion. They work with
our clients and provide extremely valuable
service,” he said.
At the same time, he sees the new Cigi
funding and governance models providing
more accountability to his members and
the balance of Canadian wheat farmers.
“Governance is now directly accountable
to the largest funder (the farmers). It’s an
enhancement in terms of a more account-
able, market-responsive funding model,”
Steve said.
Under the previous funding model,
Alberta wheat farmers paid two check-offs
on their cash tickets—one to the commis-
sion at 70 cents a tonne and a further 48
cents a tonne to the Western Canadian
Deduction.
The $1.09 single, consolidated check-
off is a nine-cent-per-tonne reduction
from what farmers paid prior to July 31,
2017. The wheat commissions assumed
the funding obligations of the Western
Canadian Deduction, including core
funding for the development of new wheat
varieties. Grain companies have commit-
ted to making up the budget shortfall for
the next two years.
Buth said the switch to the new funding
model and governance structure was the
culmination of months of consultations
involving the value chain, and called the
change an important milestone in Cigi’s
45-year history.
In addition to its core funders, Cigi also
receives funding from the federal govern-
ment through Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada’s (AAFC) AgriMarketing and
AgriInnovation programs. Pulse activities
are funded through AAFC’s Canadian
Agricultural Adaptation Program, Pulse
Canada, Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions,
Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, Manitoba
Pulse & Soybean Growers, the Agri-Food
Research and Development Initiative
(Manitoba Agriculture) and Warburtons.
Prior to the latest change in funding
sources, Cigi was funded by the Canadian
Wheat Board (CWB). After Aug. 1, 2012,
when the CWB lost its monopoly, the fed-
eral government gave Alberta Barley the
ability to act as the middleman in man-
aging the Western Canadian Deduction
for three recipient groups—the Canadian
Malting Barley Technical Centre, Cigi and
the Western Grains Research Foundation.
This five-year Alberta Barley management
period from Aug. 1, 2012, to July 31, 2017,
was intended as a temporary administra-
tive solution while Alberta, Saskatchewan
and Manitoba developed their own pro-
vincial grain commissions, which would
collect levies of their own on wheat and
barley sales.
Once these provincial groups were up
and running, it was stated that as of Aug. 1,
2017, the newly formed provincial grain
commissions would have to determine
how to fund the three recipient groups.
Cigi’s new board chair, Kevin Bender,
said the board of directors is eager to
begin its work. “As new board members
and funders, we are excited about our
role in supporting and shaping Cigi’s
future. It’s an organization with a long
and distinguished history of working on
behalf of farmers and industry to promote
and demonstrate the quality and function-
ality of Canadian grain in international
markets.”
Bender also acknowledged the outgoing
board members and outgoing chair Mur-
doch MacKay for their efforts on behalf of
Cigi. “Through their foresight and deter-
mination, they succeeded in guiding Cigi
through a period of significant industry
change and have provided the new board
with a solid foundation to build upon.”