THUNDER BAY, Ont. – The president of Canada’s largest national farmer lobby group says he has been encouraging Saskatchewan farmers to consider creating a new general farm organization.
Jack Wilkinson, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, said the province and the farm community would benefit if a new, more-inclusive farmer voice was organized.
“In the past few years, I have received phone calls from lots of farmers saying they are interested in a new organization,” he said in a July 24 interview during the CFA summer meeting. “I tell them it would help the CFA immensely to have a general farm organization in Saskatchewan. But it is not for us to try to do it. It is for farmers there.”
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In the early 1980s, the Saskatchewan Federation of Agriculture blew apart after a divisive debate over the Crow rate rail freight subsidy for grain stripped it of many members.
Since then, Saskatchewan’s representative to the CFA has been Saskatchewan Wheat Pool as a member of Prairie Pools Inc.
Wilkinson said he was not criticizing the pool.
Rather, he was noting that a number of farmers have called to say the grain company no longer represents the diversity of Saskatchewan agriculture.
And in recent years, the pools have pulled back from being major political players.
“I definitely think that has left a gap in one of our largest agricultural provinces,” said Wilkinson. “When we deal with western issues, it would be very useful to us to have a general farm voice from Saskatchewan.”
He said most farmers who talk about it suggest that rather than recreating a commodity group federation like the SFA, a more likely goal would be to create a mixed organization, partly direct membership and partly a federation of commodity groups.
Unaware of push
Marvin Shauf, vice-president of Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and a member of the CFA executive committee, said last week he has heard nothing about efforts to form a new Saskatchewan general farm organization.
“There was some discussion years ago but nothing I have heard of lately,” he said. “I think the situation as it is now works well but that would be something farmers would have to decide.”
Meanwhile, the CFA also lacks an Alberta general farm voice.
And last week, it was informed that another of its provincial federations has folded.
The British Columbia Federation of Agriculture ceased to exist this summer after years of struggle against inadequate revenues and low membership.
However, a new general commodity organization is being born from its ashes.
Last week, the B.C. Agricultural Council was welcomed to the CFA. It represents traditional commodity groups, horticulture and the cattle industry.
