June 1 a big day at WP

June 1 was a red-letter day for The Western Producer, on two counts. A new publisher, Larry Hertz, officially took office, and we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Ottawa bureau, with Barry Wilson at the helm.

The Ottawa bureau was the brainchild of the late Bob Phillips, who was publisher at the time. As of June 1, the Producer has had three publishers since then, but Wilson has been the Ottawa bureau stalwart since 1980.
Wilson wrote a column about the occasion that appears in the June 3 issue of the Producer. He started his Ottawa work during a busy time in agriculture and we’ve learned since then that it’s ALWAYS a busy time in agriculture.
It seems incomprehensible now that there was concern 30 years ago about whether the Ottawa bureau would furnish enough agricultural news to justify its existence. Through Wilson’s efforts, the bureau has consistently provided a wealth of news for the Producer that is not available in any other newspaper. He is the only full-time agricultural journalist on Parliament Hill and the Producer is the only independent western newspaper with a presence on the Hill.
That wasn’t always the case, of course, but major dailies and electronic media have scaled back their agriculture-related coverage and resources over the years. That makes it even more important that the Producer provide news of national agricultural policy, national farm groups, trade developments and other matters of concern to farmers.
Among Wilson’s numerous responsibilities is the world agricultural trade file. His work in that area began in 1986, in Cairns, Australia, when Canada became a founding member of the Cairns Group. After the Uruguay Round of GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) talks were launched in 1986, it became clear that agriculture would be a major part of any deal — even the sticking point to any deal.
So, the Producer made a commitment to bring that news to its readers and Wilson was tapped for the task. He next covered a subsequent international trade meeting in Montreal, when talks collapsed and riots ensued.
It wasn’t the last riot he would cover in connection to trade talks. He was on the ground at the debacle in Seattle in 1999 and was among those subjected to tear gas when riots erupted and the talks were scrubbed. He filed copy and photos throughout it all. And in between Montreal and Seattle, he covered trade-related events in Brussels, Poland and Geneva.

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The Producer also sent Wilson to Doha, Qatar, in 2001, where the most recent round of trade talks was launched. Then came Cancun in 2003 and Geneva in 2005. And he is still on the case.
That is only one aspect of Wilson’s contributions to the Producer and to news coverage for our readers. He has reported on farm programs, farm aid, farm rallies, farm income and farm debt. Political policies, promises and pratfalls. Young farmers, old farmers, indebted farmers and angry farmers. Elections, emissions and emotions. And I could go on.
Wilson’s weekly column is one of the most popular in the paper and it seems that nothing of agricultural interest escapes his attention. And did I mention that he is also a really great guy?