Reports of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association’s death appear to have been greatly exaggerated.
In early June, the organizations’ board of directors said it was winding down the association’s affairs, citing a declining membership and lack of money.
Offices were closed, staff were let go, the board of directors resigned and the obituaries written.
But for the past month, a group of 15 members calling itself the renewal committee has quietly set about getting the organization up and running again.
They say it’s not a question of if, but simply when and how, the wheat growers, or whatever name it carries, resumes its familiar role as a leading proponent of deregulation and commercialization and a relentless critic of the Canadian Wheat Board.
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And they say the new organization will be younger, more enthusiastic and more effective than the WCWGA had been in recent times.
“I have no doubt that when the organization re-emerges and rebuilds, it will be stronger than it was prior to the events of this spring,” said Paul Orsak, a Binscarth, Man., farmer and member of the 15-person renewal committee.
He said the events of June seem to have provided shock therapy for farmers who support the wheat growers’ policy positions but haven’t been involved in recent years.
Membership numbers have dipped below 1,000, a far cry from the more than 10,000 in the organization’s heyday in the early 1990s.
Former directors also complained that no one was prepared to step in and take over leadership roles.
The renewal committee, which first met in Regina June 19, is examining a variety of issues relating to structure, management, membership and policy, and will present members with organizational options at a special meeting this winter.
“We’re trying to diagnose exactly what the problems were and build on the strengths we find, jettison the weaknesses and then go from there,” Orsak said.
Committee member Cherilyn Jolly said the key to the group’s success will be convincing more young farmers to get involved.
“I really believe the future of the membership lies in the younger generation,” she said from her farm at Mossbank, Sask.
“We just need a new fresh face out there saying the same things in a different way, with energy and enthusiasm.”
She doesn’t think the organization’s membership and financial woes meant farmers were rejecting its policies. Rather, the problem has been convincing those who agree with those policies to get involved.
“Farm policy seems to be on the back burner with younger farmers,” she said.
“There are so many things on the family farm agenda right now, it just doesn’t seem to be a priority.”
Exactly what steps the group can take to turn that around remain to be determined, she said, but she expressed confidence it will happen.
She also said the organization may be willing to accept assistance from the corporate side of the grain and agriculture industry if that’s what it takes to keep the association going.
“I really believe there are enough farmers out there who believe in our policy that we can do this on our own, but I don’t think we need to prove any point by doing that.”
While the organization has suspended day-to-day operations, it remains a registered association with a bank account and around 1,000 paid-up members.
Orsak said the organization is keeping its seats on a number of industry and government committees, dealing with issues like safety nets, the agricultural policy framework and grain standards, adding that government and industry groups have made it clear they want the wheat growers to stay in business.
“They’ve all said that if we aren’t there it will leave a big void on the wheat side,” he said.
“I think they like a diversity of opinion from time to time.”
Some longtime wheat grower members have said that one of the organization’s problems may have been a perception among farmers that it was a one-issue organization, always blaming the wheat board marketing system for whatever was ailing the grain economy.
Jolly said that was never really the case, adding that while the renewed organization may try to assume a higher profile on other issues, it will never abandon its campaign to end single desk selling.
“I don’t foresee any huge changes in our policy,” she said.
“We really believe in what we’ve got.”
