Co-operative watchers and the pioneers that began the co-operative movement say co-ops mirror the environments of the members they serve.
In agriculture that environment is changing.
“Agriculture has moved from a culture to an industry and the co-ops reflect that movement. Co-operative structures are changing to better compete just like the farmers they serve,” said Murray Fulton, the director of the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.
Economic pressures of the past two decades have forced mergers of rural co-operatives, and some have sought to raise funds on the stock market. Those transformations within the movement are necessary for survival in a globally competitive world, say pundits.
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French and Dutch farm co-operatives, leading the way in the corporate co-operative movement, have started competing head to head with multinational corporations, improving returns for their farmer members.
“The challenge for these (Canadian) new generation agricultural co-ops will be to maintain the link with their members. It is too early to tell how this relationship will be maintained for co-ops such as Saskatchewan Wheat Pool,” said Alain Roy, of the federal Co-operatives Secretariat, in Ottawa.
Terry Phalen, retired, spent much of his life developing Saskatchewan co-operatives.
“Co-ops have shown their strength in Saskatchewan by continuing to thrive on a sound economic basis, but the philosophy has suffered. The individual member doesn’t receive the same attention that they once did but that has been that trade off for economic strength.
“The philosophy of co-operatives has made the co-ops strong and future leaders of the movement will have to find new ways to involve the common member and improve the relationship. That relationship is the economic advantage co-ops will always have and it is a great competitive edge,” said Phalen.
Leander Buhr farms near Herbert in Saskatchewan’s southwest, and has promoted the co-operative movement for more than 30 years.
Fight for business
“Co-ops, large like the (Saskatchewan) Wheat Pool or small have had to make some drastic changes in recent years. The way we view the member has changed. Now the member is customer. Co-ops are having to fight to maintain the business of every member and non-member alike and have had to attract new business as well.
“Philosophy alone will not keep them (customers) coming back. We have to provide the service at a competitive price and I think that is the future of our co-ops.”
Because of the need of small farmers and co-ops to compete with larger corporations, the true co-operative nature of rural culture will be tested in the future, say these co-op watchers. Among other things, many predict a growth in buying co-ops for agricultural supplies, and farm equipment co-ops where large pieces of farm equipment are shared, allowing small-scale farmers to compete with larger ones.
