Prairie moneylenders share one characteristic with farmers: they’re willing to chalk up a bad year to bad luck and focus on next year.
That mood was evident at the grand opening of a new Credit Union Central building in downtown Winnipeg. The credit unions of Western Canada are doing well, but many of their farmer customers are struggling and the credit unions are banking on better times for their clients.
“We’ve gone through a couple of really bad years,” said Portage Credit Union chief executive officer Dave Omichinski about bad weather that saw many Manitoba farmers’ crops destroyed.
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“That’s very unusual. It never happens to us. It’s one area of the province that we can always count on. Even in poor years our guys tend to do relatively well.
“It would suggest the next 20 years should be fine,” said Omichinski with a smile.
The credit union systems of the three prairie provinces are closely tied to the farm economy, more so than the big banks. But in spite of bad weather, BSE and low grain prices, the credit unions in all three provinces have been growing.
Sid Bildfell, chief executive officer of Saskatchewan’s Credit Union Central, said most farmers are now able to take economic blows because few depend on only one commodity or sector for their revenues. The most diversified farms are able to ride out short-term problems.
“It’s a real spread between the guys in livestock or mixed farms and the straight grain farmers,” said Bildfell.
“It’s a real margin squeeze for the grain guys right now.”
But even for the grain-only producers, few are gambling on one big crop.
“I don’t think you’ll ever again get a swing to a single crop,” said Bildfell, doubting that farmers will flood into wheat this year because of recent price increases.
“There’s just too much risk. Diversification into all the oilseed and pulse crops, I think, is going to continue.”
Farming is always risky, but farmers have learned to survive and credit unions grow through the ups and downs.
“It’s still good,” said Bildfell.
“We’re still big into agriculture and we have no intention of abandoning that business.”
In Alberta, the oil boom has created another lucrative way to diversify a farm community and that has led to booming growth in rural areas, said Alberta Credit Union Central chief executive officer Jim Scopick.
“We find the farming communities are doing extremely well,” said Scopick, who attended the Winnipeg CUC opening.
“It’s very strong in Alberta. We’re very diversified.”
Credit unions in all three prairie provinces claim to be taking business from the banks, which Scopick attributes to service cuts at small town banks.
“We focus on member needs and member services. We’re not forcing people into automated devices to do their banking,” said Scopick. “We believe in face to face personal service.”
Bildfell said the same applies in Saskatchewan, with the same effect: “We’re getting market share, so that’s good.”
At the opening ceremony, Manitoba agriculture minister Rosann Wowchuk praised the credit union movement for standing behind farmers.
“It is credit unions that many times are the only banking facility that is available for the people of rural Manitoba,” Wowchuk said.
Omichinski said farmers survive by “being extremely frugal with their capital purchases.
“Every year has its unique problems,” said Omichinski.
“This year’s no different.”
