Dear Valued Partners,
Over the past month, we’ve been sharing exciting news about how WCI is transitioning to a new stand-alone organization, Western Crop Innovations (WCI). This transition marks a new chapter in our organization’s evolution, presenting fresh opportunities to reset our business and realign our investments to meet future stakeholder and employee needs, promising a brighter future.
As part of this realignment and transition, our team will receive new employment contracts from WCI, and the organization will retain all existing positions except for the former Program Director position at the Field Crop Development Centre (FCDC), which has been eliminated. We want to thank Kofi Agblor for his contributions and service to FCDC, and we are committed to providing Kofi with our full support during this process. As we come together with a clear purpose and focus our investments to create a best-in-class organization, we intend to present new employment agreements by the end of this month.
WCI and Olds College are working hand in hand to ensure a smooth transition of assets from the FCDC to our Lacombe offices and research farm. We are committed to completing this process by July 1, when WCI operations will operate under our own policies and procedures with dedicated support services. We are excited about the prospect of forging a new collaborative agreement with Olds College and other postsecondary institutions, a testament to our shared commitment to mutually beneficial partnerships.
In the meantime, as the seeding season winds down, we have been busy setting up external stakeholder meetings with interested industry groups. We must garner support from across the value chain to bolster our short-term transitional needs and earn their vote of confidence with longer-term project-driven agreements. We anticipate making several positive announcements in the upcoming weeks and months.
WCI has many elements necessary to propel our future as we transform our stakeholder experiences and expectations. We value your support and are excited to embark on this new chapter together. With your continued partnership, we are confident that our future is bright, promising, and full of potential!
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For more information, please contact:
Jason Lenz, Interim Chair (403) 358-8876
Mark Olson, Interim Executive Director (403) 861-8854