Five Manitoba Commodity Groups Vote In Favour Of Amalgamation

Manitoba farmers have voted in favour of amalgamation.

 

All five commodity groups involved approved the special resolution presented at the special meetings held at CropConnect on February 12th & 13th.

 

The five Manitoba commodity groups involved in the merger are the National Sunflower Association of Canada (NSAC), Manitoba Corn Growers Association (MCGA), Winter Cereals Manitoba, Inc. (WCMI), Manitoba Flax Growers Association (MFGA) and Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association (MWBGA).

 

A total of 165 ballots were cast at the five meetings. With two thirds majority of members voting in favour of the special resolution to amalgamate at each of the five special meetings, the legal amalgamation of the five organizations with the Manitoba Crop Alliance, Inc. was approved.

 

“When we started this discussion in 2017 to explore amalgamation, the steering committee always stated it was a decision for our farmer members to make through a vote,” says Fred Greig, MWBGA’s chair. “We are happy our members engaged in the process and made their voice heard."

 

A petition will be submitted by Manitoba Crop Alliance’s board of directors to the Manitoba Farm Products Marketing Council (MFPMC) on February 14, 2020. The petition is part of the process for the Manitoba Crop Alliance to gain their designation regulation under The Agricultural Producers’ Organization Funding Act to collect levy on the seven crop types at the same levy amounts as currently remitted. MFPMC had determined that a vote in favour of amalgamation by the five organizations would be enough to establish the representative nature of the Manitoba Crop Alliance, Inc.

 

Manitoba Crop Alliance’s board of directors will be meeting prior to seeding to ensure a smooth transition.

 

Members of the five organizations will continue to be updated as the process moves forward to the Manitoba Crop Alliance becoming operational August 1, 2020.