NEILBURG, Sask. – The proposal to turn Saskatchewan Wheat Pool into a publicly traded company didn’t generate much interest among pool members in this corner of the province.
Eleven people attended a meeting here last week to talk about the plan to convert their equity into shares and allow non-farmers to buy into their company. There are about 600 members in the district.
Seeding was essentially over, and with the wind blowing at 60 kilometres an hour, nobody could use spraying as an excuse.
Those who did make the trip into Neilburg, about 50 km southeast of Lloydminster, said they were surprised at the low attendance.
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“It’s sort of a sign that people don’t care,” said Arthur Graham, who farms at nearby Marsden.
Harry Polkinghorne, who also farms at Marsden, said although the share proposal hasn’t been a big issue in the area, he had expected at least 50 members would come to the meeting.
He thinks there’s a lot of “alienation” among pool members. There seems to be a feeling the meetings are just a formality and the pool leaders will “go ahead and do what they want anyway.”
The meeting at Neilburg was a far cry from the highly publicized meeting at Swift Current a week earlier, which attracted more than 100 farmers and generated lots of heated debate, but pool officials say it may be more representative.
Six meetings in this northwestern district attracted about 55 members out of a total membership of about 5,500, a turnout of one percent. Attendance ranged from around 20 at Biggar to one at Unity.
But local pool director Charles Weir of Perdue doesn’t think the small crowds are anything to worry about.
“I don’t call it apathy. I just don’t think that there’s a major concern.”
He said a small group of members are strongly opposed for philosophical reasons and a small number are enthusiastic supporters. The majority are either undecided or don’t care.
Louis LaPaire, the pool’s district representative for the area, put a similar spin on the low turnout: “If it was a big concern, they’d have been there.”
The 90-minute meeting in Neilburg produced no angry speeches about abandoning the pool’s co-operative principles or pool leaders running roughshod over the democratic rights of members, as did the meeting in Swift Current.
Instead, farmers asked about things like the different types of shares, the timing of the change-over, the pool’s spending plans, the likely price of pool shares, the tax implications for farmers and the rules for transferring shares.
There were also concerns expressed about the pool’s ability to attract new members and retain the loyalty of long-time customers under the new structure.
Polkinghorne is worried a lot of members will sell their shares right off the bat.
“I see a lot of guys struggling and here’s a chance to get their hands on some cash,” he said. “The younger ones are strapped and the older ones want their money out because it’s time to get it out.”
Everett Putnam of Neilburg said he thinks the share proposal is probably the way to go. And he’s happy Saskatchewan farmers will retain control of the company.
“It’s either our money or it’s Hong Kong money,” he said. “If we’re going to go public, I’d just as soon it’s our money.”
Local pool delegate Cyril Sawtell said while he’s has been keeping an open mind on the subject, as of last week he intended to vote for the share proposal. He expects it will be approved at the delegates meeting in Saskatoon July 13-14.
