Saskatchewan Wheat Pool brought independent directors to its board table for their financial and management expertise.
Now, the farmers around that table are returning the favour.
The pool’s eight farmer directors have formed an agriculture committee to help the four independents learn more about the industry.
President Marvin Wiens said the committee meets regularly to discuss all types of farming issues. Some have a direct link to the pool and others don’t.
He said a good example is a discussion they held about bovine spongi-form encephalopathy, even though the pool is no longer involved in livestock marketing.
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“Probably 50 percent of our farmers have livestock as well as grain,” Wiens said.
The company also supported the beef sector with donations to help western Canadian food banks distribute beef this summer.
The committee’s work does not mark a return to the days when the pool was an oft-heard voice for the farm lobby. In recent years the pool has declined to comment on many policy issues.
“We are going to be selective and we’re going to do a lot of our work behind the scenes.”
Wiens said the company has been effective that way, and cites the discussion between the three provincial political leaders at a pool delegates’ meeting during the recent election campaign as an example.
In his speech to Class B shareholders, Wiens said the company is committed to shaping agricultural policy and being at the table as it unfolds.
“We believe that the long-term viability of the industry requires flexible government policies and regulations and an economic environment that promotes efficiency for producers and the agribusinesses that service them,” he said.
“We will continue to encourage our governments to work towards fair trading practices so that Canadian producers can reap the benefits of their harvests by competing fairly with other producers worldwide.”
