Melinda German Q&A: Moving forward with the National Check-Off increase

The last time we spoke with Melinda German in 2016, she had just learned she was selected to fill the new position of General Manager for the Canadian Beef Cattle Research, Market Development and Promotion Agency – the organization charged with the oversight and administration of the National Check-Off under federal regulations

a Canadian Meat Business exclusive by Cam Patterson

One of the prime issues she was concerned with after assuming the new title was dealing effectively with the diversity of all of the regions; no small task when you are increasing the levy of a national program.

Shortly after her appointment, the new increase of a $1.50 had been announced. Subsequently, province sign up is still not complete with Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba only starting to collect the increase beginning April 1, while Ontario has yet to sign in.

Canadian Meat Business (CMB) thought it would be a good time to check in with Melinda German (MG) and get her take on the status of the Check-Off and what changes the agency has implemented since she took the reins.

“Our transparency and communication has been increased exponentially and we continue to get more and more producers and stakeholders signed on”


– Melinda German

 

MG: It’s been a while see we connected.

CMB: Yes, at that time you were packing up and getting ready to move from Manitoba to Alberta, heading to your new position as the General Manager for the National Check-Off.

MG: It’s now two years in and I think we’ve seen a lot of things change for the better – not to say things were broken before – but one of the biggest things we’ve focused on here is transparency to all of the stakeholders in the industry. And I believe that has been a real plus since I started.

CMB: What are some of the instances that stand out for you? Right now, transparency is big on everyone’s minds with respect to the Check-Off.

MG: Absolutely. It’s been a big topic too because we’ve been working on moving forward with the Check-Off increase. There hasn’t been an increase to the check-off since it was first introduced 17 years ago, so because we’re moving forward with that change, people wanted to know more about it; specifically how the check-off is administered. And that is something that we as an agency, are really focused on.

CMB: So basically the how, why, and what of where money goes?

MG: Exactly. Why is there a change coming? How did it happen? What are the benefits?

CMB: All valid questions.

MG: Yes they are. And so now there is not only greater transparency within the check-off system in Canada, we are also seeing better communication surrounding the Canadian Beef National Check-Off. How does it work? What are the benefits back? So, we have been really focusing on that communications piece over the last two years. And that has been very worthwhile. We’ve seen a lot of positive movement forward as producers themselves start to understand what the benefit is coming back to them.

There is also better transparency with just how the money is used. Now that there is a stand alone agency focusing on the check-off, we can be very clear with how the money comes in, how we administer it, how it goes out, and these are the programs that it is being directed to.

So, our transparency and communication has been increased exponentially and we continue to get more and more producers and stakeholders signed on and, subsequently, get back positive feedback from the information we’re providing. So that has, I think, been our biggest win.

CMB: This brings us back to when we first talked, when you were just starting the new position, and it was particularly important to you to deal effectively with the diversity between the regions in Canada. And you seem to be doing that now with respect to the check-off increase, and bringing the provinces on board.

MG: Yes, that’s right. To date we have all our provinces signed on for the check-off increase with the exception of Ontario.

CMB: Was it a bigger challenge than you anticipated?

MG: Well, not so much that exactly. But you know, we’ve always known the diversity and complexity between each province would present unique challenges because they all have different focus, priorities, and concerns. Until you roll up your sleeves and really start to work at this every day of your life, you don’t really face the challenges of having National programs working with those provinces to positively move them forward and grow. It is really complex and even though we don’t get right down to the weeds of each province’s concerns, we still aim to provide high level support that builds on the programming that each province is doing. There were a lot of gaps that needed to be filled. And we are proactive with that and as a result, seen some really good support back from a lot of the provinces.

CMB: What were some of the gaps that stood out for you?

MG: I think primarily it was understanding the check-off mechanism. I mean here we are trying to operate at a national level within the federal regulation that we must follow, while at the same time function within all the separate provincial frameworks. We realized we had to get our heads around it first. We had to know; federally what does this mean; provincially what does this mean? And how do we effectively communicate that to the provincial cattle associations that help us collect the check-off. How do we communicate that down to the next level which is farmers and producers? So that was a big gap just making sure we were all on the same page insomuch as understanding the system and how it should work.

We’ve really worked hard this year supporting provinces, and that includes hands on support as well. An example of that would be when a province experiences staff turnover. We know how critical that is when you have such a complex system and experienced people have left key positions. The impact could be crippling to the check-off in that region. So we offer training and support to the new people assuming those key roles.

So we are more proactive and this all fits within our communication piece, putting emphasis on the regulatory framework, communication, and the transparency.

We also spent a lot of time going around the country visiting annual general meetings and reporting back to producers. We were telling them, “Here’s your national check-off in Canada. Here’s how much money we collected last year and here is where the money went.” Basically, here is your check-off picture from a national perspective.

CMB: When the National Check-Off increase came in, we wer surprised how quickly the Maritimes came on board.

MG: They did. You know the Maritimes are some of our smaller provinces in terms of herds and national check-off contributions. But the three Atlantic provinces basically asked themselves; where are we now and where do we want to go? They have been working really hard over the last few years to come together with a coordinated strategy, not only within each province, but also from a maritime regional perspective. They knew in order to provide benefit back to their producers they had to join the national program on the ground floor. They saw the value and actively demonstrated that commitment to the national program by getting on board so quickly. Nova Scotia has been collecting the increased check-off for over a year already.

CMB: Where is Ontario’s and Quebec’s participation at now?

MG: Quebec is actually in. They do have a different system and they don’t have to go through the regulatory process to increase the national levy. What they do is contribute the equivalent of their provincial dollars towards national so, they have said, “We’re committed, we’re in and going to contribute the extra $1.50.” They do take the majority of their contribution back and that is because of the uniqueness of their programming. They have a lot of programs aimed at the veal industry and elsewhere, so their dollars get reinvested back into the province. They are part of the national insomuch they are at the table, they participate in discussions, but they are also making investments back to their sectors within the industry. That is how their program is set up.

CMB: And Alberta?

MG: Alberta is on side. They are going in April 1 of this year as is Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

CMB: Some provinces combine their provincial and national check-off into one levy. Have you seen push back occurring because there is some question of the non-refundable levy at the provincial level?

MG: The national check-off is a mandatory non-refundable levy, but, yes, we get some push back due to some provinces combining the levies. When we do get some of those comments we typically direct folks to their provincial cattle producer associations, so that they are engaging with that producer, because a lot of that does fall to the provincial associations to address those questions.

CMB: If we talked again a year from now, where do you think the national check-off focus will be aiming?

MG: I think in the next year there are two key things were going to be focusing on. Definitely continued communication to the producers. Because a lot of them are going to start to see that increase levy when they go to market in the fall. We need to ensure we’re out in front of it and provide key information as to why and what the value back to our producers is, and providing that transparency to show how their money is working.

The other big thing that is going to happen for the National Check-Off this year is that under the federal act we are allowed to do some inspections and audits of levy collection; basically ensuring it is being properly remitted into the national program. So we will be paying attention to slippage issues because that’s going to go hand in hand with the increase and with our communication pieces. So we’re going to be out and about a lot more.