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he cited complaints he’s fielded with the
SBDC about check-off dollars, the fee
subtracted from producer payments to
fund research.
“We’ve had some complaints, like ‘We
don’t benefit from this research.’ I’ll say,
‘Well, just a minute. Let’s talk about that.’”
It’s a persuasive tactic. To engage
with Cooper in conversation is to risk
becoming a convert to his point of view.
“I’ve met with some really irate people
and had some great conversations,” he
et’s talk about that.
Over a cup of coffee at Carver’s
Steakhouse at the Sheraton
Cavalier in Saskatoon, the city where
he now lives, Bill Cooper framed his
achievements in a team context. The
sturdy, straight-talking 82-year-old farmer
fromWest Bend, SK, is interim chair of
the Saskatchewan Barley Development
Commission (SBDC), serves on the
Barley Council of Canada, and operates
FarmWest Management Inc., his own
agricultural accounting service and
consultancy.
He is also the grain industry’s
undisputed senior authority and adviser.
Affectionately known as “The Godfather,”
he’s eminently approachable.
“I always try to turn the negatives into
positives,” said Cooper. Illustrating this,
said, with obvious satisfaction. Illustrating
his case, Cooper recounted how he and
his brother received contracts to sow
an early variety of rust-resistant wheat.
That year, the disease destroyed all
their wheat except for 100 acres of the
new variety. “And if you look at trans-fat-
free canola,” he added, emphasizing
the bottom-line benefits of scientific
investment, “that’s worth $100 a
tonne more than regular canola. That’s
research.” But more on this later.
One foot in the boardroom, the other
on the farm, he often draws such parallels
between policy and practice.
“He can manage on the farm talking
to a guy riding a combine, but he does
just fine in the prime minister’s office,”
said Saskatchewan Agriculture Deputy
Minister Alanna Koch. “He’ll often make
Bill Cooper, living legend of Western Canadian agriculture
by IAN DOIG • Photography by CANDICE WARD & ELECTRIC UMBRELLA
THE
GODFATHER
OFGRAIN
Winter
2014
grainswest.com
33
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“I’ve met with some really
irate people and had some
great conversations.”
– Bill Cooper