The Canadian Wheat Board says it’s trying to be accountable, but judging by the attendance at the board’s latest round of corporate accountability meetings, those efforts aren’t making much of an impression with prairie farmers.
The grain marketing agency held three such meetings over the past two weeks, in Brandon, Saskatoon and Sherwood Park, Alta.
Fewer than 100 farmers in total attended the three meetings, which featured presentations by the board’s chief executive officer, chief operating officer, a senior financial official and directors, as well as a question session.
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“Certainly those are not the numbers we’d like to see,” said CWB chair Ken Ritter. “We’re going to have to look at what things different we can do to have more producers come out.”
One producer who attended the Saskatoon meeting said more farmers should take advantage of the opportunity to hear what the board is up to and ask questions.
“I think it’s important to make that connection,” said Doyle Wiebe of Langham, Sask. “I think it was a valuable meeting.”
He said low attendance might be a sign that the board has done a good job dealing with hot issues that have triggered heated debates in the past.
But with all the board’s new pricing options, the meetings are valuable in terms of getting information that can help improve the bottom line.
CWB directors say it’s crucial to hear from farmers.
“We really are struggling with this, because by far the most important information we can get is by meeting with farmers,” said director Dwayne Anderson.
Director Ian McCreary, chair of the board’s farmer relations committee, said the board’s efforts to communicate with farmers shouldn’t be judged solely by the attendance at the three accountability meetings. Individual directors hold lots of smaller meetings in their districts throughout the year, which combined bring together thousands of farmers.
“I know I’ve met with a couple of hundred farmers in the last week at various meetings around my district.”
Wiebe thinks one way to boost attendance would be for the board to hold accountability meetings in conjunction with farm shows or conferences that already attract large numbers of producers.
“I think these meetings just won’t stand on their own if there aren’t major issues in front of them,” he said.
Director Rod Flaman said too much attention is focused on numbers, whether it’s attendance at meetings or turnout in the CWB election.
“The people who have concerns and are interested show up or vote,” he said.
