Alberta farmers support amalgamation

Nov 03, 2022

Wheat and barley farmers voted in favour of a merger between the two crop organizations

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Alberta farmers have voted in favour of a merger between the Alberta Barley Commission (ABC) and Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC).

Out of 1,569 votes (606 from barley farmers and 963 from wheat growers) cast throughout October, 89 per cent of barley farmers (539) and 88 per cent of Alberta wheat producers (847) supported amalgamation.

“A clear direction was provided by both wheat and barley farmers on the preferred path forward for the organizations,” Tara Sawyer, chair of the ABC, said in a Nov. 2 statement. “We look forward to informing our farmers on the next steps in the process at our winter meetings.”

The results will remain preliminary until Nov. 17 and can be contested during that window.

The plebiscite’s outcome means members agreed to terminate the existing plans of each individual crop organization and to establish a new plan for the amalgamated group.

This also means new regulations must be created for the changes to take effect.

These changes must receive approval from both crop commissions, the Government of Alberta and the Alberta Agricultural Products Marketing Council.

Alberta Barley and Alberta Wheat worked for five years to reach this point.

In September 2017, Tom Steve, general manager of Alberta Wheat, became interim general manager of Alberta Barley on a four-month trial period to determine if amalgamation is viable.

That decision came after board members recognized multiple areas of overlap between AWC and Alberta Barley.

In November 2018 at the AWC meeting in Strathmore, members passed a resolution calling for Alberta Barley to explore a formal merger.

In October and November 2021, 71 per cent of polled barley and wheat farmers voted in favour of the idea of amalgamation.

In December 2021 and January 2022, respectively, both crop organizations passed a motion to conduct a plebiscite about a merger.

More information about the amalgamated organization’s next steps will be available at upcoming winter meetings.

The first meeting is scheduled to take place at The Coast Hotel in Lethbridge on Nov. 15.

Video: Understanding the Basics of the Renewable Fuel Standard

On Friday, April 24, 2026, from 12 noon–1:00 ET, the Penn State Center for Agricultural and Shale Law, alongside the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s (PDA) Agricultural Business Development Center (ABDC), presented this webinar in the Understanding Agricultural Law Educational Series, a course designed to develop subject matter literacy and competence on fundamental issues of agricultural law for attorneys and business advisors who work with or represent agricultural or rural clients but may not necessarily specialize in agricultural law:

“Understanding the Basics of the Renewable Fuel Standard”

The Clean Air Act’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program requires transportation fuel sold in the United States to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuels such as ethanol, biodiesel, or advanced biofuels. Established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and later expanded by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, the RFS is implemented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in collaboration with the Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

This webinar provides an overview of the legal authority and structure for the RFS program and explain how it works, including the program’s system of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) and categories of renewable fuels. Additionally, this webinar addresses EPA annual volume requirement rulemaking and associated recent legal issues.