As of August 1, there will no longer be two levies applied to spring wheat and barley grown in the province.

General Manager for the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association, Pam de Rocquigny, says the single check-off deduction is in response to the end of the Western Canadian Deduction on July 31.

"The Western Canadian Deduction was established in twenty-twelve by the federal government as a transitional program and we always knew that program was going to be ending July thirty-first of twenty-seventeen. So we knew that, being a transitional program, that commissions across Western Canada started to move towards August first twenty-seventeen in terms of assuming those responsibilities of the Western Canadian Deduction to each of the provincial commissions in Western Canada."

de Rocquigny explains further that a resolution was passed by MWBGA membership at its 2016 AGM authorizing the Board of the Directors to proceed with the regulatory changes required to complete the transition of WCD to the authority and responsibility of MWBGA.

She stresses that Manitoba farmers won't see a net increase in check-offs deducted off their spring wheat and barley sales due to this change. The MWBGA deduction will be $1.00 per tonne for spring wheat, and $1.06 per tonne for barley. 

"They won't see the two lines in terms of the Western Canadian Deduction and then the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association...they'll just see that one line in terms of a deduction on their wheat and barley sales."

In a release, MWBGA Chair, Fred Greig, said "The amendment will allow MWBGA to continue providing leadership for continuity of funding to wheat and barley variety development, as well as tackle other important research and market development related questions."

He added that "The MWBGA will also continue working with its fellow wheat and barley commissions in setting funding commitments with former WCD recipients Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF), the Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi) and Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre (CMBTC)."

Winter Cereals Manitoba, Inc., the spring and barley commissions in Alberta and the barley, spring wheat and winter wheat commissions in Saskatchewan have also received regulatory amendments to move to single check-offs administered by their respective commissions.