The Flax Council of Canada said Tuesday its search for a new president is underway, after Wayne Thompson announced in August he has left the position to become executive director of the Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF), effective Dec. 1.

“Over the past two years, it has been a fantastic opportunity to serve the board of directors and be part of the Flax Council of Canada,” Thompson, who previously served a stint as a WGRF program manager, said in a release Tuesday.

Thompson has been president of the national council since 2021, and executive director of the Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission (SaskFlax) since 2014. He took the national council through what it described Tuesday as “a transition in membership and direction.”

The Flax Council of Canada, in operation since 1986, shut its Winnipeg head office in 2018. At the time it cited declining flax production and a corresponding decline in levy funding; it also saw the departure of a major funding member, Richardson International, at that time.

On Thompson’s watch, the council said, it has also worked toward “eliminating trade barriers and building strong government relations to benefit the flax industry.”

The national council’s new search for a president also follows SaskFlax’s recent decision to merge its management and office with fellow oilseed development commission SaskCanola in Saskatoon.

After Thompson’s announced departure for the WGRF, SaskFlax and the Flax Council of Canada had jointly put out a call in August for a new chief executive for the two organizations. But that joint position was not filled and the Flax Council is not a party to the new SaskFlax/SaskCanola arrangement.

The national council’s board said Tuesday it will work with Ralph Kikkert of Guelph consultancy Strive on a “thorough search” for its next president “over the next several months.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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“I’m sure it will decrease the acres,” said Jack Hodgson, a delegate on the Manitoba Crop Alliance’s flax committee and a Roland-area farmer.

“It’s just one more kick against growing flax when there are so many other options,” he added.

Schweitzer Mauduit (SWM) has confirmed it is closing its flax-processing facility near Carman at the end of the year.

The facility, which SWM has owned since 1985, harvests and collects flax straw and processes this into flax “tow,” which is a raw material for cigarette papers, said a spokesperson for the company in a statement on August 26.

The closure is a result of the late-2020 closure of SWM’s Spotswood, New Jersey facility. The Manitoba plant produced flax tow for this operation.

“Although SWM pursued alternative business models that would allow us to continue to operate… we were unable to find an option that could successfully sustain our operation,” the spokesperson said.

Rumours that the flax facility would close circulated on Twitter in late August. Hodgson said he called his flax straw buyer who confirmed it was true.

This leaves flax producers with few options for their straw, said Hodgson. The coarse straw doesn’t break down well if left in the field and is more of a nuisance to dispose of than anything, he said.

SWM didn’t pay much for the straw, but it would get it off the field, said Hodgson. Now, the cattle producers he’s spoken to don’t really want it. The next best option is to burn it or find someone to bale it into small square bales, he said.

“It’s just a pile of extra work,” he said. Meanwhile, there are many other viable options to plant.

“Unless another end-user steps up and finds a use for the flax straw, I’m sure that (flax will) slowly work its way out of the Manitoba marketplace, unfortunately,” Hodgson said.

“The flax industry appreciates and values the business SWM has provided to farmers through its Canadian operations,” said Wayne Thompson, CEO of the Flax Council of Canada in an emailed statement.

“The SWM processing of flax straw provided flax growers another option for their flax straw and additional revenue stream when growing flax,” he said.

Thompson said there may be an impact to flax production for farmers who relied on SWM to manage flax straw residue.

“There are not many similar solutions,” he said.

As to a rumour that SWM was shuttering its entire Canadian operation, a spokesperson for the company said this was not true.

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“We’ve got a lot of players in the flax industry that haven’t been part of the Flax Council of Canada before,” Thompson said in an interview May 11. “We know that they have dealt with their own market issues and we want to show them value by being a member of the Flax Council of Canada because if we are all working together, as in any industry, we will be stronger and we’ll have broader and better conversations around the flax council board table… ”

After having a lower profile the last three years the Flax Council of Canada is working to represent Canada’s flax supply chain from farmer to processor.

FCC closed its Winnipeg headquarters Jan. 31, 2018, after 32 years of operation. However, in August of 2018 FCC announced it was “restructuring its board and joining forces with the Canola Council of Canada.”

Under the new structure, the Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission (SaskFlax) and Manitoba Flax Growers Association supported flax agronomy and research, including the flax-breeding program at the Crop Development Centre in Saskatoon.

*The canola council focused on market development and access for flax, as well as flax council administration.

Since then the Manitoba Flax Growers Association merged with several other Manitoba crop commodity groups to form the Manitoba Crop Alliance.

FCC closed its doors after Richardson International in late 2017 opted not to renew its membership.

The firm also didn’t renew its membership in the canola council or SOY Canada.

Jean-Marc Ruest, Richardson’s senior vice-president of corporate affairs and general counsel, said in a January 2018 interview the company wanted changes in the organizations, including a single oilseed council to increase efficiency and cut costs.

The three organizations discussed that option, but didn’t reach an agreement, Thompson said May 11, 2021.

“So the Flax Council of Canada then proceeded with engaging with current Flax Council of Canada members and other industry stakeholders to determine if there’s a need for a Flax Council of Canada association to represent the industry at the national level,” he said. “The response was yes, and then the board developed a new business plan… and that has led to a reinvigoration of the board and organization to carry out a membership drive to encourage the companies that are in the flax industry — buyers, traders, processors, exporters, all those different forms of the supply chain here in Canada and see what interest there is in being a member.”

SaskFlax and MCA, which represent flax farmers in Saskatchewan and Manitoba remain members of FCC.

SaskFlax and MCA, which have provided agronomic services for farmers, will continue in that role, Thompson said.

SaskFlax will also continue working on market development.

Thompson, who was appointed FCC’s new CEO, continues as SaskFlax’s executive director.

“We’re not the biggest commodity in Canada so we’re looking for a few efficiencies,” Thompson said. “This was one of the things that everyone thought would be a good idea to proceed with.”

FCC now has two types of membership — general and special.

A general membership costs $10,000 a year and comes with a seat on the board of directors.

Special memberships cost $2,500 and allow members to take part in council discussions and provide input.

“We’ve gone to a straight fee based on the level of involvement members would want with the flax council,” Thompson said. “We’re not basing it on any sales volumes or export volumes that a company maybe exporting or processing. We’re making it fairly simple at this point in time as we go through the reinvigoration of the flax council.”

There are always market issues to deal with. For example the European Union is looking to set limits on cadmium, a heavy metal, sometimes found in flax.

Japan is also restricting imports of Canadian flax over concerns about cyangenic glycosides, naturally occurring toxins sometimes found in a number of plants.

Forty years ago flax was one of Western Canada’s six major grains and oilseeds, but acreage and production declined as other crops surpassed it.

Last year Manitoba farmers seeded 44,000 insured flax acres and averaged a record 32 bushels an acre provincially.

The 10-year average yield is just 20 bushels an acre.

Statistics Canada estimates western farmers will seed 981,500 acres of flax this spring, up about 50,000 from 2020.

Most of those acres will be in Saskatchewan followed by Alberta.

“The profitability of flax is quite good compared to the other crops,” Thompson said. “Yes, the yield may struggle sometimes but the price of flax and the cost of the inputs usually put the profitability pretty much in line with all of the other crops that a farmer grows on their farm.”

Flax also provides another rotation option, which helps fight diseases, insects and weeds.

“Old crop we’ve seen very strong prices up until recently, but there are still good prices out there because the supply is definitely tighter than it has been the last few years,” he said. “Demand from around the world for Canadian flax is still very strong. It’s sometimes very difficult to find supply right now. And for new crop we’re seeing strong prices compared to historical numbers.”

Canadian flax exports took a hit in 2009 after very small amounts of genetically modified (GM) Triffid flax was found in shipments.

“We’re still monitoring it,” Thompson said. “It is not the big concern it was in the past for sure. Farmers have done a very good job of cleaning out Triffid from the system. In the EU we’re seeing an increased demand from the buyers there because we do have quality and safe flax in Canada and they have been diversifying their purchases out of the Black Sea region and the last couple of years there has been strong demand out of the European Union for Canadian flax.”

Traditionally flax was used in paint and flooring but the oilseed, high in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acid, is gaining in food markets.

“The consumer demand for flax as a food that provides a lot of health benefits is something that they are demanding more and more of,” he said. “We’re seeing an increased demand, thanks to the pandemic, for food with health benefits.”

*Update: Additional information on market development was added.

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When interviewed last week Jean-Marc Ruest, the company’s senior vice-president of corporate affairs, didn’t rule it out but also didn’t leave the impression Canada’s biggest grain company is champing at the bit to do so. Richardson pulled out of the value chain group almost a year ago.

“The overarching concern right at the outset was the value we get for our membership,” Ruest said in an interview Dec. 7. “The price we were asked to pay and the benefit just didn’t line up. It wasn’t a case of making a checklist and once you hit all of those we’re there.”

Most of the Richardson council complaints are covered under its revised priorities. But will it be enough?

The last time Richardson met with the council, it wasn’t convinced.

“The value proposition still wasn’t there for us,” Ruest said. “We still thought what they were asking from us for a membership fee perspective outweighed what we saw as the benefits of the organization.”

The council’s $3.5-million 2019 budget cut should result in a “significant saving” if Richardson was to rejoin, he said.

“It’s laudable to reduce it in that fashion, but you have to take a look at what membership fees are of other like organizations,” Ruest said. “Cereals Canada covers a very complex commodity — wheat — and cereals more generally.”

And its membership fee is much less than the canola council’s, he added.

It cost Richardson around $1 million a year to belong to the canola council, Soy Canada and the Flax Council of Canada, with most of it going to the canola council, he said.

Canola, on average, earns western Canadian farmers more than any other crop. And half of it is processed domestically, contributing even more to the Canadian economy.

Although many had a hand in making canola a success, the canola council is widely lauded for its role. If Richardson remains a non-member is it a ‘free rider?’

“I think we’d be hard pressed to be accused of being free riders in the canola industry,” Ruest said.

“We were among the founding members of the canola council. We had been very long-standing members and funding at very significant levels — I would argue oftentimes excessively in the canola council and the canola industry generally.

“Now going forward, not being members of the canola council, we recognize there will be things we have to do on our own and are prepared to do so on our own given the size of our canola business.”

Canola’s success hadn’t made Richardson complacent, according to Ruest.

“In large part complacency has got us to where we are,” he said.

“You always have to be evolving and looking at reinventing yourself. I think what we had was a long period of unrest, and ultimately we now have an evolution of the canola council, which is a good thing.

“But I think if your starting position is… that there’s an obligation to fund because of past successes… without looking at whether the organization still meets the needs of its members, or offers a proper value proposition to its members, that is very dangerous ground. That’s not the key for the long-term success for an organization.”

Since dropping out of the council, Richardson has increased industry involvement elsewhere.

“We’ve significantly increased our participation in Cigi (Canadian International Grains Institute) and the funding of Cigi,” Ruest said. “We have spent a lot of money in our development farms.”

Richardson has also joined the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity, which defends modern agriculture and reassures wary consumers.

“We’ve invested in a number of areas where we see benefit in the industry,” he said.

“We have to move away from this concept that there’s this obligation for people to fund anything in the industry. It ultimately has to be a situation where the consumer of the service or the funder sees the value and is comfortable with the amount being asked. A sense of pressuring doesn’t get you very far in the long term.”

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The organization is revamping its priorities to be more effective and efficient in growing Canadian canola markets and production.

The changes, which include a shift in canola promotion, the council’s role in agronomy and funding, received unanimous support from the council’s board of directors. But is it enough to get Richardson International to rejoin?

That company stunned the industry a year ago by dropping out of the canola council, citing concerns about high membership fees, unneeded market promotion and a duplication of agronomy services.

As of last week Richardson hadn’t reviewed the council’s new priorities, but is willing to, company senior vice-president of corporate affairs and general counsel Jean-Marc Ruest said in an interview Dec. 7.

“If they (council) feel they have addressed those concerns and have a proposal they would like to make to us, we’ll listen… ”.

The canola council would welcome Richardson’s return.

“As a value chain organization our goal is to include as many of the real participants in our industry as possible,” council president Jim Everson said in an interview Dec. 5. “It is valuable to have them (Richardson) as funders and supporters of the council. But our responsibility as the canola council is to the whole value chain… and not just any one part of the value chain.”

Why it matters: Canola generates more revenue for western Canadian farmers than any other crop. The canola council is credited with contributing to canola’s success and is charged with keeping the success going.

Market access and boosting canola production remain top priorities, says the canola council.

The council will shift consumer-oriented canola promotion from established markets in the United States, Mexico and to Japan, to emerging markets in places such as South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand, in co-operation with the Canadian Canola Growers Association, Everson said.

The council will reduce duplication between its agronomists and those with private companies through the council’s new Sustainable Supply Committee.

The council is also integrating staff with Canadian Oilseed Processors Association, which represents Canada’s canola crushers, and providing administration for the Flax Council of Canada, Everson said.

The council and the Canada Grains Council are holding a joint conference in Montreal in March.

“I think that’s a more efficient use of our members’ time and availability,” he said.

The council also has a new funding model. In the past canola farmers, exporters and crusher paid a per-tonne levy. As canola production, exports and crushing increased, so did the council’s budget.

Now the council is setting its priorities and then the budget, which in 2019 will be reduced to $5.2 million, a cut of $3.5 million from the $8.7 million spent in 2018.

“The focus is on what job has to be done and what do we do to adequately fund that job,” Everson said.

Future budgets may vary slightly, Everson said, but not by a lot “so each of the members of the council will have a more predictable, uniform, levy forecast.”

Farmers will cover 50 per cent of the council’s core spending, as they have in the past, through a checkoff on the sale of canola collected by their provincial canola association.

The other half will come from canola exporters, crushers and life science companies, Everson said.

“Each will have a formula on how they share that investment between them,” he said.

“There will be tweaking here and there but this is a new alignment and we’re really confident this is what we need for the foreseeable future. We’ve got a realigned set of priorities and unanimity on the board about pursuing it and a very strong value chain on our board.

“We’re really confident we’ve got it right here and we’re going to move ahead.”

The council will continue in canola agronomy, but to reduce duplication will work more closely with private agronomists, many of whom work for companies that belong to the council, Everson said.

“We think it’s important to have people in Western Canada in touch with what’s going on, on the land, but we are going to be doing less of the outreach and direct communications work,” he said. “It’s just a matter of the resources we have to do it. What I’ve been saying is we are not likely to be walking fields with three or four producers if we can pull together a group of a large number of growers and commercial agronomy people also. Then it makes sense because you are transferring information to a larger group of people.”

Everson said there has already been some reduction in jobs the last 12 to 18 months through attrition.

“I think what we will do in the future is make sure that we are resourcing the association to meet those priorities,” he said.

Market access is at the top of the list, given 90 per cent of Canada’s canola production is exported, Everson said.

China has been pushing Canada to cut canola dockage, ostensibly to reduce the risk of blackleg disease from Canadian canola.

American tariffs recently slapped on Canadian steel and aluminium imports illustrate how vulnerable exports of any product are, Everson said.

Increasing Canadian canola production also tops the list because it’s needed to meet demand.

“Our board feels that’s a very important responsibility — something that’s equally helpful to the producer and the processor and the grain company,” Everson said. “Those companies are really investing in growth and to do that they really need a crop that’s healthy, maintained and growing.”

That’s part of the council’s agronomy mandate. But council agronomists are invaluable when responding to phytosanitary issues.

“We draw very heavily on our crop production team and its credibility to help us with these regulatory issues that come up where we need credible, science-based, objective analysis,” Everson said. “Somewhere around 15 to 20 per cent of the work our crop production team does is not aimed at outreach to producers, it’s aimed at our market access and regulatory agenda.”

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“It’s clear that Canadian flax has tremendous potential, both on the farm and in the marketplace,” said Flax Council chair Erwin Hanley in a news release. “Now we’re ready to capitalize on that potential. After a period of some uncertainty, we’re well-positioned to become the next high-value addition to the Canadian farmer’s rotation.”

Under the new structure, the Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission (SaskFlax) and Manitoba Flax Growers Association will support flax agronomy and research, including the flax breeding program at the Crop Development Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Michelle Beaith was recently hired by SaskFlax to lead research and agronomic programs for the industry, according to the release.

Market development, market access and government relations services will be provided to the Flax Council on a cost-recovery basis by the Canola Council of Canada. The arrangement will provide access to professional staff and worldwide connections, while enabling the Canola Council to generate more value from the strengths of the Flax Council.

“It makes sense to share our expertise and infrastructure because we share many members, supporters, goals and challenges,” said Canola Council president, Jim Everson, in the news release. “Working together, we can get more mileage out of every trade visit and can speak with a stronger voice when we tackle issues of mutual concern.”

The Flax Council’s Executive Committee will set the direction for policy and programs, considering the best interests of all those with a stake in the future of Canadian flax, from growers to processors.

The new Flax Council Executive Committee consists of:

– Erwin Hanley, director at large and chair
– Eric Fridfinnson, representing the Manitoba Flax Growers Association
– Bo Hallborg of Viterra, vice chair
– Brian Johnson of Johnson Seeds, past chair

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That’s why when Richardson International, Canada’s largest grain company, didn’t renew its council membership in 2018, there was shock, disappointment, concern and even anger.

Why would Richardson suddenly pull out of an organization with a proven track record benefiting the entire canola sector?

Richardson’s senior vice-president corporate affairs and general counsel, Jean-Marc Ruest, said his company wants the canola council, the Flax Council of Canada and Soy Canada to form a single oilseeds council to save money. Fair enough, but leaving the council seemed extreme, almost petulant.

Dig deeper and the picture changes.

First, this isn’t new. For several years Richardson has been promoting greater council efficiency, but Richardson says the can just kept getting kicked down the road.

Second, Richardson’s decision wasn’t sudden. The council was warned more than a year ago Richardson would secede without reforms.

And third, Richardson wasn’t alone. Viterra, Canada’s second-largest grain company, was united with Richardson on streamlining the council. Viterra was going to walk too, according to reliable sources, but had a change of heart at the last minute.

Had the council lost its two biggest grain company-members, the question would be, ‘what’s going on with the council?’ instead of, ‘what’s with Richardson?’

Sources also say most other major grain companies share Richardson’s position.

If so, why hasn’t the council acted?

The answer perhaps rests in how the council functions. Policy is based on consensus — an approach that has served the council, and the industry well, for more than 50 years, but can also stifle change.

The status quo has a lot of momentum. Change isn’t easy, especially in the face of success.

There’s no disputing, including by Richardson, that the canola council does good work. Its top-notch staff is professional in everything it does.

Canola’s value to the Canadian economy tripled over the past decade to $26.7 billion a year, said an independent analysis released by the council last year. The council is credited with deftly pulling together disparate and competing interests in the pursuit of a common cause.

Richardson mustn’t become complacent, or forget the council’s role getting canola to where it is.

If it ain’t broke, why fix it?

It’s about time and money and the bigger picture.

As canola production has grown, so too have council revenues and spending.

Membership in Soy Canada and the canola and flax councils, cost Richardson “well over” $1 million a year, Ruest says. Most of that money went the canola council.

Moreover, membership in every industry association eats up Richardson staff time. And often the issues dealt by different associations are the same or similar.

Despite its huge contribution, Richardson had no more say in the canola council than any other member.

That’s a good thing for the sake of industry co-operation and trust. But it underscores inequities in the council’s funding model.

Coincidently Cereals Canada’s entire budget is just $1 million.

Cereals Canada, like the canola council, is funded by farmers, grain and life science companies. Both organizations do market development and tackle trade issues. The council has 38 employees compared to Cereals Canada’s six.

The council had $15.7 million in revenues in 2016. However, unlike Cereals Canada, the council is heavily involved in agronomy and research, which are highly valued by farmers.

And agronomy is paying off. Canadian canola yields jumped 61 per cent over 20 years to average of 42.3 bushels an acre in 2016. Improved genetics are part of it, but so are better farming practices.

Richardson questions the council’s role in agronomy. An alternative is to transfer it to the provincial canola grower associations, or the Canadian Canola Growers Association with the appropriate reduction in council membership fees to offset the cost.

The elephant in the room is that canola is a victim of its own success.

The Cinderella crop, so named for its rags-to-riches story, has been transformed from weedy, low-yielding, industrial oil-producing rapeseed, to canola, a resilient, high-yielding crop that produces heart-healthy oil and valued protein meal for livestock. Canola is probably, most years, western Canadian farmers’ most profitable crop.

Fifty years ago canola needed the focus and dedication of a single industry association to push it to where it is today. Canola mustn’t coast, but it’s time to take stock of what’s been accomplished, what still needs to be accomplished and determine the most efficient way to deliver it.

Farmers don’t grow only canola, and grain companies don’t just handle canola. To remain sustainable farmers need a range of profitable crop options.

The flax council closed its office Jan. 31 due to a lack of funds, largely because Richardson pulled out of it too. The flax council will operate online with a single part-time employee. But think of what the flax council could do with at least a full-time administrator and agronomist working out of the canola council’s office.

An oilseed council could continue to promote canola, but also work to make flax more profitable, making farmers less reliant on canola, whose tight rotations threaten future profitability.

Some farmers complain of ‘checkoff fatigue.’ In response five Manitoba commodity groups — wheat and barley, pulse and soybean, corn, sunflowers and flax growers — are proposing to merge. The goal is to make better use of farmers’ money by improving the profitability and sustainability of all their crops.

Richardson is proposing the same with an oilseeds council.

Let the debate begin.

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Richardson International, Winnipeg’s largest homegrown grain trader, is pulling its financial support out of the Canola Council of Canada, Soy Canada and the Flax Council of Canada.

As a result, the flax council has already announced it will be shuttering its Winnipeg office, a move that also affects the Manitoba Flax Growers’ Association, which had shared the spot. Both groups say they’ll survive, but admit the funding hit will have an effect.

Soy Canada says the impact will be minimal. In no small part that’s due to its funding formula. Annual membership fees paid by industry members — such as seed companies, crushers and exporters — are based on sales or volume and are capped at a maximum of $25,000.

The biggest loser under this scenario is surely the Canola Council of Canada, which received the lion’s share of the $1 million that Richardson says it shelled out annually.

Richardson executives told media they weren’t convinced the company was getting value for money. In particular, they noted they’ve been encouraging the oilseed groups to merge together to get more bang for their buck.

The groups in question were apparently reluctant. The smaller ones worried they’d be lost in the shuffle and the far-larger canola council was said to be concerned that its efforts would be diluted.

Here Richardson may have a point. After all, provincial farm groups are having this very discussion amongst themselves, with the stated goal of bringing the concept of a merger to memberships for a vote. It’s never a bad idea to look for a better way.

It would appear, however, Richardson has concerns going well beyond capturing a few more efficiencies. It seems it is also pushing for a change to the mandate of the organizations.

Richardson is a privately held company. It is completely within its rights to spend (or not spend) its money.

But for a grain company whose very existence and profitability hinges on volume of grain handled, it’s a strange choice to ignore the canola council’s exemplary record of growing and maintaining volume through agronomy.

It appears that Richardson sees the canola council’s efforts as redundant.

It’s true that the industry has its own complement of agronomists, but there is a nuance between the roles of sales agronomists and independent extension advisers that should not be ignored — at least not by farmers.

It also doesn’t recognize that the canola industry has some looming agronomic challenges, particularly clubroot. It was a Canola Council of Canada agronomist who first identified the disease in Alberta and the organization leads the charge against it.

Richardson also appears to object to the canola council’s market development work, noting global canola production is now measured in tens of millions of tonnes annually. The company appears to feel there’s no need to sing the crop’s praises, and where there is, the private trade is doing a fine job.

That assumes the status quo will continue, however. Canola is still a relatively small crop. Global annual soybean tonnage alone is four times as large as canola production. The global oilseed market is a crowded place with many contenders and a lot of sharp elbows.

Canola has long made hay on its reputation as a healthy food ingredient. But the continuation of that can’t be assumed. In early December, Temple University suggested canola oil could be linked to poor memory and reduced learning ability in Alzheimer’s patients.

There will undoubtedly be more research in this area, which will either prove these findings or deposit them in the junk science box. There’s no question canola has its enemies. A quick Google search of the internet containing the terms “canola, “oil,” and “harmful” returned nearly 400,000 hits in 0.57 second.

That’s not to say science won’t evolve and not always in the way an established industry desires. Note how research changed our understanding of the effects of trans fats created when vegetable fats are hydrogenated on human health, with repercussions that ripple throughout the food industry.

In the meantime, it is important to have an industry voice that can offer a reasoned response to public concerns.

Beyond that, the industry needs leadership that will chart a course for the future, both in meeting emerging market demands and supporting research.

The Canola Council of Canada takes a value-chain approach to commodity development. It has continued to evolve over the 50-plus years it has been in existence.

Richardson’s withdrawal is a blow but the council is in no imminent danger of demise. Farm groups and other industry players have stated they’ll continue to support it.

Richardson should too, for its own sake.

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Meanwhile, the Manitoba Flax Growers Association, which shares that office in the old Grain Exchange Building, will also leave at the end of this or next month, Flax Growers’ association chair Eric Fridfinnson said.

• Read more: Flax Council of Canada to shut office

“We’ll be making a decision over the next little while what our long-term future will be,” Fridfinnson said, referring to the location of a new office.

Monika Haley, who has worked for both the council and association, has agreed to continue administering the Flax Growers in the interim, Fridfinnson said. However, she will no longer work for the council.

There’s a possibility the Flax Growers will work out of the Manitoba Corn Growers Association Carman office eventually, Fridfinnson, who farms at Arborg, said.

The association might also ask one of the other commodity groups in that office to assist with administration.

In addition to the Corn Growers, the wheat and barley, soybeans and pulse and sunflower associations are headquartered in that office.

The Flax Growers, along with those other groups, are currently exploring merging to make better use of farmers’ checkoff contributions.

However, the decision which rests with farmers, won’t be voted on until February 2019.

That leaves the Flax Growers in bit of a quandary.

“We have a pretty small organization,” Fridfinnson said. “With the discussions I don’t really get into hiring staff because they might have a lot of uncertainty in the future.

“It is what it is and we have to deal with it. We’ve got some ideas of a direction. We’re working with the Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission on an agronomy program for the next five years. So we’re still moving forward and accomplishing some things. That’s about all we can do at this time.”

The flax council will no longer have an agronomist. Johnson, who is also president of Johnson seeds in Arborg, said the staff cuts and office closing are the result of reduced revenues. The council is funded by voluntary levies submitted by companies selling flax domestically and abroad. Some companies have opted not to contribute.

Reduced flax production has also hurt revenues, he said.

“This whole thing is unfortunate because we’ve been caught with a couple of things happening at the same time,” Fridfinnson, said. “We’ve had a few smaller companies want to take a free ride and not contribute to the council. That naturally got the ire up of a couple of the bigger ones that continue to contribute.

“It’s a situation that’s going to hurt everybody. But the two grower organizations (in Manitoba and Saskatchewan) are still here and we’re going to try and do the best we can.”

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The flax council, which has years of good information on the health benefits of flax, will also continue to promote flax, Johnson said.

The work has already paid off, resulting in flax being used in cereals, breads, nutrition bars, eggs (omega-3) and pet foods.

“We’re going to be re-evaluating over the next few months and try to maybe come up with a different funding model as well,” he added.

“We just had to cut back on expenses. We will still have a person working part time managing the office. It will be off site. It will be managed at least three days a week.”

Johnson and Fridfinnson say flax has a lot of potential for farmers. Average provincial flax yields are believed to have set a new record in 2017. (The results will be published by the Manitoba Agricultural Services in Yield Manitoba 2018 next month.)

While 2017 was a good growing year, Johnson and Fridfinnson also credit flax council agronomist Rachel Evans’ work in developing best management practices for growers.

“Rachel did an absolutely fantastic job,” Johnson said. “I am very disappointed not to have her there. She was very instrumental in really putting an agronomic program together and supplying growers with best management practices. It has really helped boost the flax yield. That was the missing piece for many years.”

With improved yields flax is a very profitable crop and good for farmers’ rotation, Johnson added.

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The Flax Council of Canada announced Monday its downtown Winnipeg office, which it shares with the Manitoba Flax Growers Association, will close effective Jan. 31.

Going forward, the council said it will “continue to operate on a reduced service basis.” Details on how the council will do so are still being discussed, council chairman Brian Johnson told Manitoba Co-operator reporter Allan Dawson on Monday.

The council, in its release, didn’t specify what “reduced service” will mean for growers, council membership or employees based at the Lombard Avenue office. The council in its release thanked its staff members for their work and said it “wish(es) them well in their future endeavours.”

The council’s staff today include financial administrator Maureen Jordan, executive assistant Monika Haley and, most recently, extension agronomist Rachel Evans, who was brought on full-time in September 2015.

The council in July announced the retirement of Don Kerr, its president since 2014, and hasn’t yet named a replacement.

The Flax Council of Canada has operated since 1986, promoting the “advancement of Canadian flax and flax products” and the crop’s nutritional and industrial uses in domestic and export markets.

Funding for the council has declined with a drop in Canadian flax production and sales, Johnson told the Co-operator.

The council is funded through a voluntary levy on flax sales remitted by Canadian flax sellers, he said, adding that not all sellers contribute.

The Manitoba Flax Growers Association and Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission, which represent flax farmers in their respective provinces, also contribute to specific council projects aimed at boosting flax sales.

“Over the course of the past year, the formation of a combined oilseed council was thoroughly discussed” at the request of some council members, Johnson said in Monday’s release. Johnson is a general manager for Manitoba flax seed producer and council levy contributor S.S. Johnson Seeds.

“Through these discussions, it became apparent that the formation of an oilseed council would not materialize in the foreseeable future. The result of this is a significant loss of funding to the council, necessitating cost reduction measures.”

In short, Johnson told the Co-operator, “we had to do it because our funding was quite dramatically cut… We’re still in a fairly good financial position, but we had to cut overhead. A lot of this [flax promotion] can be done off the premise.”

“Further dialogue will be needed to see what opportunities may lay ahead as the flax industry decides the merit of a national organization,” the council said Monday.

The council since 2013 has managed over $6.2 million in research and market development programming, with support from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the agriculture ministries and its affiliated flax grower associations in both Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

The council noted its “key role” in managing the fallout from the 2009 discovery of genetically-modified Triffid flax seed in shipments to the European Union, a discovery which shut the door on what had been the largest market for Canadian flax exports.

The council reiterated Monday it had put up financial support toward “significant” testing protocols to help remove Triffid from the Canadian flax seed supply.

The council has also succeeded in helping to get the word out on the health benefits of flax consumption and that will continue, as will the council’s website, Johnson said, pointing to increased flax in breads, power bars and omega-3 eggs.

Canada’s flax growers harvested an estimated 1.03 million flax acres in 2017, up from about 850,000 in 2016 but down from 1.595 million in 2015.

Canadian flax production for 2017 was estimated last month at about 548,200 tonnes, down from 588,000 in 2016 and 942,300 in 2015. Canadian farm cash receipts from flaxseed production in 2016 totalled $254.2 million, down from $310 million in 2015. — AGCanada.com Network

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