Saskatchewan Wheat Pool members need to be more passionate, a co-operative expert told delegates at their annual meeting last week.
Passionate about the pool, that is.
Passion is what keeps members interested, supportive and involved. Some delegates agreed that is lacking in today’s membership.
Michael Cook, a professor at the University of Missouri, said this is a major challenge for producer-owned organizations.
“The most precious thing you have is being inside your member’s mind,” he told the delegates. “That is what you cannot afford to give up … Once you lose this passion, liquidate.”
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Pool director Gary Wellbrock, of Ponteix, Sask., responding to the speaker, said perhaps the leadership has done too much, causing members to lose their sense of belonging.
“We haven’t really effectively engaged the members,” he said. “More and more members have said to us, ‘Here’s what we want done. Go do it for us’.”
Sask Pool originated from an economic crisis 74 years ago, when farmers saw the advantage of collectivism, Wellbrock said. But rapid changes within the company to deal with different circumstances are not being viewed the same way.
“That member is seeing a crisis all right, but they’re seeing us as the problem, not the solution,” he said, referring to the pool’s foray onto the public stock exchange in 1996 and to elevator consolidation.
Cook said pool delegates chose their course and now they have to deal with it.
New generation co-ops that have sprouted across the United States all share passion, Cook said, because the members have a sizable investment.
“When you commit a significant portion of your net worth to an organization, you give a damn.”
Wellbrock agreed that more Class A farmer shareholders, who can vote on company policies need to own more Class B non-voting shares.
“It’s very important for us that Class A shareholders see the financial investment in Sask Pool as a cornerstone of engagement,” he said.
