Flax is slowly losing out on acres to other crops in Manitoba.

That was the message from Eric Fridfinnson, chair of the Manitoba Flax Growers Association (MFGA).

The group held it's annual general meeting at CropConnect last week.

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Eric Fridfinsson at CropConnect

"We continue to struggle with our acreage," said Fridfinnson. "We're a little under 100,000 and we're hoping that with the price of flax this year we're going to have a bit of an upturn next year. That'll depend on markets by spring."

Fridfinnson says many producers have concerns with flax straw, adding other crops with herbicide tolerance are also easier to grow. However, he notes flax can be a profitable crop to grow under a good management system.

When it comes to collaboration, Fridfinnson says that MFGA does not have an official position, however the organization will be looking to make some changes as the group is not sustainable under its current financial structure.

One addition to the board this year will see the addition of Garry Froese of the Winkler/Roland area.