Ontario Soybean Growers has called off its engagement to the province’s wheat and corn growers’ groups.
OSG announced Thursday that its board had voted to withdraw from the current memorandum of understanding (MOU) process that was to lead up to the forming of one organization with the Ontario Corn Producers’ Association and Ontario Wheat Producers’ Marketing Board.
OSG said its analysis showed the proposed MOU structure and process “would not have been as beneficial to soybean growers” as the status quo. OSG’s stand-alone strategic plan focuses on market development and “delivering increased value to growers,” the group said.
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The soybean growers also noted that they support the corn and wheat growers should they move forward on the MOU process.
The corn and wheat growers’ groups, however, said in a joint release Friday that they are now “taking time to regroup.”
The two groups said OSG brought its decision to the joint MOU board meeting in Woodstock on Thursday, at which the three boards were expected to put the finishing touches on on information package and ballot to go to all Ontario grain and oilseed growers in January 2008.
Al Kerkhof, chair of the OWPMB, said the two groups were “disappointed” with the OSG board’s decision and that farmers won’t have a chance to put the idea to a vote.
“We have invested considerable time, money, staff and director resources in the past three and a half years in making this a transparent process for our producer members and we feel strongly that our joint proposal would add value” for Ontario crop growers, he said in a release.
Talks on amalgamation will now be suspended until all county and regional meetings are complete in February, the corn and wheat growers’ groups said in their statement, adding they hope the topic will be “an active discussion point” at those meetings.
