Source: Alberta Milk
The Western Milk Pool is pleased to announce that all five western provincial Boards have unanimously agreed to support a new modernized governance model for working together.
BC Milk, BC Dairy, Alberta Milk, SaskMilk, and Dairy Farmers of Manitoba have all agreed to a partnership approach that aligns the resources and expertise of the five organizations under one WMP.
The historic decision to unanimously support WMP transformation, and establish a new governance model, addresses the need to work together more efficiently, make decisions faster – and provide a more organized, unified voice for western dairy farmers in discussions at the national table and with all dairy stakeholders.
The WMP transformation is supported by a clear vision, mission, guiding principles and decision-making authority to ensure milk quality remains consistently high, “drive excellence in dairy”, and support a stronger, vibrant dairy industry in Canada.
The WMP is very much a long-term, forward-looking partnership which will continue to spearhead several priority initiatives already underway. These include:
- Continuing to advance the Dairy Innovation West (DIW) project – the new state-of-the-art dairy concentration facility that will be built in Alberta, with the capacity to accommodate up to 300 million litres of milk from western dairy farmers per year.
- Aligning policies across the four western provinces to ensure farmers are treated equitably and there is consistency for processors as we continue to collectively focus on the most innovative practices for ensuring farm excellence.
- Forming a WMP transportation team to focus on efficiency and accountability to provide the best value and service to the industry – including a fully harmonized milk transportation system that meets the needs of both dairy farmers and processors through common transporter policies.
- Processor Relations and Business Development to better engage western processors and create a more attractive business climate for farmers and processors in the context of a national framework, leading to a stronger dairy industry in Canada.
- Establishment of an integrated communication function with pooled resources to ensure clear, consistent, responsive messaging on WMP decisions and the dairy industry and foster open dialogue and engagement with all stakeholders.
- As part of our ongoing efforts to drive excellence in dairy, we will combine our provincial resources and expertise to focus on research and innovation for increased sustainability and new product development.
The next step in WMP transformation is finalizing the new governance model, which is expected to be completed by Spring 2023. Following this important milestone, the work will begin to fully operationalize the WMP within the legislative framework of each province.
