Members only: How SaskBarley leverages strategic memberships to drive value for Saskatchewan barley farmers

In 2024, SaskBarley officially became a member of Western Crop Innovations (WCI), a not-for-profit breeding and research organization based in Lacombe, AB, focused on developing new and improved barley varieties for western Canadian producers.

This decision was a big one for SaskBarley, says Board Chair Cody Glenn, as Tier 1 WCI membership is valued at $50,000 per year of farmers’ check-off dollars.

But it also made sense from a strategic, and value-driven perspective.

“There are currently only two and a half public barley breeders in Western Canada altogether, and one of them is at WCI,” he says. “If we lost that, it would be a huge loss to the barley industry.”

He says there’s also a lot of equity in the barley breeding program at WCI, as the organization was formerly the more-than-50-year-old Field Crop Development Centre (FCDC), which has carried out decades of barley breeding work and research to date.

“They’ve got a lot of good germplasm there and that breeding program has come out with some really good varieties over the past ten years,” Glenn says. “On my own farm, I think I have five varieties from that program alone. So, it’s definitely not something we want to lose.”

WCI is just one of a handful of organizations which SaskBarley is a member of and supports through financial contributions and/or representation. And like the WCI decision, each choice around member organizations is carefully researched, analyzed and discussed around the board table before becoming final, Glenn says.

“There needs to be a benefit to the producer in every choice we make. If we see value in an organization’s goals and mandate, and the potential for collaboration, that’s something we would consider supporting to leverage the benefits of collaboration.”

“SaskBarley is a lean organization with a few dedicated staff that do a fantastic job managing our limited resources,” says Glenn. “We can’t accomplish all our goals in-house. The board has been very good at leveraging partnerships with industry organizations that have the staff and resources to meet our objectives.”

The concept of value is always tied to SaskBarley’s strategic priorities, Glenn says, which include research, market development, communications and extension.

As part of the strategic planning process undertaken in the summer of 2024, SaskBarley has replaced the advocacy pillar of their mandate with a broader directive to leverage sector resources and relationships on behalf of barley producers.

Aware that barley is a mid-sized crop and part of a producer’s larger rotation, SaskBarley will continue to find strategic uses for resources rather than duplicating efforts, especially advocacy, that are already well managed by the organizations they support, Glenn says.

Currently, each of the memberships SaskBarley holds helps the organization move closer to its goals in one or more of its focus areas. They also expand SaskBarley’s network, knowledge base and capacity to serve and represent Saskatchewan producers, Glenn says.

“The Board that we have now is absolutely a phenomenal group, because they just bring so much outside perspective, whether from sitting on these external committees, or from their personal lives and experience. It makes for very good conversation and enhances our ability to make good decisions.”

Key achievements from SaskBarley’s member organizations are also included in the organization’s annual report each year, available at saskbarley.com.