The acting chief commissioner for Canada’s grain handling regulator has formally levelled up to the chief’s role, while the GM of Manitoba’s general farm group replaces him at the second seat.

Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Monday appointed Doug Chorney — an agricultural engineer and grain and oilseed grower at East Selkirk, Man. — to a three-year term as chief commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC), starting immediately.

Chorney, who was president of Manitoba’s Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) from 2011 to 2015, was named a CGC assistant chief commissioner in 2017. He’s been the CGC’s acting chief commissioner since Patti Miller, who was named to the chief spot in 2017 for a six-year term, took early retirement in June this year.

To replace Chorney, Bibeau on Monday named Patty Rosher, currently KAP’s general manager, to a four-year term as the CGC’s assistant chief commissioner, also effective immediately.

Rosher had come to KAP in March last year from the Manitoba department of agriculture, where she had worked since 2013, in roles such as director of policy (2018-19), director of the transformation branch (2017-18) and acting chief operating officer for the Food Development Centre (2016-17).

Rosher’s experience in the ag sector also includes 17 years at the Canadian Wheat Board, including a five-year stint as its manager for marketing and sales before the CWB’s deregulation in 2012. She also currently serves as vice-chair of Genome Prairie, a not-for-profit organization set up to manage and support large-scale genomics research in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Rosher had recently spearheaded development of a strategic plan for KAP that proposes adding two new standing committees (research and innovation, and grassroots participation) and potentially cutting the number of districts representing the group across the province.

“I am confident that these two individuals will provide excellent leadership for our grain growers across the country and help the Canadian Grain Commission maintain a competitive and efficient grain sector,” Bibeau said in a release Monday.

The Winnipeg-based CGC serves as the regulator of standards and procedures for Canada’s grain handling sector and as the official certifier of Canadian grain.

The commission establishes, recommends and maintains grades and standards for Canadian grain, is responsible for Canada’s system of grain grading and inspection and serves as one of Canada’s scientific research organizations on grain quality. — Glacier FarmMedia Network