When Quebec farmers look west, they are confused.
They see that the once proud prairie grain co-operatives that defined
western agriculture have disintegrated and they don’t understand why.
Meanwhile, in Quebec, the Co-opérative fédérée de Quebec, an umbrella
group for Quebec co-operatives, is alive and well.
The $3.7 billion organization has 37,000 members and is responsible for
more than 14,000 agriculture jobs in the province.
In the past five years, the federation paid more than $51 million in
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dividends to its farmer members. In the past 10 years, it directed more
than $685 million into new investments.
Yet, there is concern that what has happened in Western Canada could
occur in Quebec.
To prevent a similar erosion of traditional-style co-operatives in
Quebec, the fédérée hired Quebec reporter Nicolas Mesly to travel
Western Canada and interview farmers and industry specialists to try
and understand what happened to the grain co-operatives Agricore and
Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and the dairy co-op Dairyworld.
“There is a lot of worry in the co-ops about what happened in the
West,” Mesly told a group of farmers gathered to share their thoughts
on the demise of the grain co-operatives.
“Maybe one day the same choice might happen down there,” said Mesly in
halting English.
While Federated Co-op’s network of retail businesses remains an example
of a successful traditional co-op, western grain companies have been
forced to make radical changes in the past 10 years. The company
leaders generally cite intense competition from international
conglomerates as the factor driving the changes.
Sask Pool is now traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange but maintains its
tradition of farmer control by allowing only farmer shareholders to
vote.
Agricore, which was formed out of the merger of two smaller co-ops –
Manitoba Pool Elevators and Alberta Wheat Pool – has merged with United
Grain Growers to become Agricore United and operates as a standard
publicly traded company.
“Things are going well now, but the question asked is why some co-ops
are in big difficulty. What has led to those problems to avoid them,”
said Mesly.
It’s a question that frustrates the group of farmers around a boardroom
table at Augustana University in Camrose, Alta., who could see grain
co-ops eroding like topsoil in a rainstorm, but were helpless to stop
it. The group had a long history of involvement in prairie co-ops. Some
had grandparents who were original members of Alberta Wheat Pool and
United Grain Growers.
Co-op membership brings a sense of alienation rather than pride, said
Kevin Loveseth of Viking, Alta., whose family has supported co-ops for
three generations.
He said delegates’ opinions were ignored when they pointed to
Agricore’s escalating debt.
“They kept building and building and putting us deeper and deeper in
debt,” said Loveseth, who was told by different Agricore managers not
to worry about the debt. He was even chastised by other delegates for
challenging management decisions, Loveseth said.
Less than two years later, debt forced the merger with United Grain
Growers.
Horst Schreiber of Strome echoed Loveseth’s concerns: “The delegates
were worried about the debt but we were told we worry too much.”
It no longer seemed the company’s direction came from the farmer
delegates. Changes were orchestrated from above, they told Mesly.
“No matter what we said, it wasn’t listened to anymore,” said
Schreiber, who resigned when his local wooden elevator was closed.
“I said ‘I’m not going to be part of this farce of democracy.’ “
Grassroots support and direction from members are key to a traditional
co-operative. Local producers elect delegates, who elect directors to
the board, who hire the senior management to run the company with the
board’s guidance. Vital to it all is member support and input into
decisions.
In a written submission to Mesly, Bill Dobson of Paradise Valley,
Alta., said delegates must take some responsibility for the company’s
demise by demanding so much from the organization.
“Everyone has a goal to increase market share and enjoy double-digit
growth. These are expectations that are difficult to achieve, if not
impossible, on an on-going basis. Unfortunately, all too often, nobody
wants to ‘put on the brakes’ for fear of being thought an old-fashioned
stick in the mud.”
Harvey Thomas of Alliance, Alta., said years ago the time spent at the
two-week Alberta Wheat Pool annual meeting in Calgary cemented
delegates’ belief in the co-op. Farmers realized the benefits of
co-operatives.
Over the years meetings shrank to two or three days to rubber stamp
previously made board decisions, reinforcing the belief that local
delegates don’t count.
Jean Heie, a Kingman farmer, said some pool policies alienated more
progressive farmers. Her husband was thrilled to be asked to become a
member, but when he discovered he had to buy and sell all his farm
produce through the pool, he didn’t fit the criteria.
“You aren’t going to attract the most progressive farmers because you
weren’t allowed to market to anyone else. That really limits you,” said
Heie, a pedigreed seed producer.
Adam Campbell said one of the reasons he emigrated from Scotland to the
Prairies was because of the co-operative grain system. When times were
good, those running the co-operatives thought the goal was to become a
big grain player instead of listening to farmers.
“The board of directors and management were seduced. They thought they
were like ADM (Archer Daniels Midland). They forgot they were a
co-operative.”
