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director in 1978. He considers his eight-
year tenure there his most important
achievement.
“The whole advancement of the
canola industry, that’s got to be the
highlight,” he said.
During his time at the helm, the
organization was instrumental in the
phenomenal growth of the canola
industry, launching the Saskatchewan
Canola Development Commission and
the Canola Council of Canada, as well as
initiating check-offs.
Cooper worked to keep canola on the
open market, to increase its transport
priority relative to wheat, and to lower
elevation and handling costs. He also
pushed to establish Winnipeg as the
world pricing exchange for canola,
improving market competitiveness and
increasing producer profits.
In 2013, canola production hit 15
million tonnes—two million more than the
Canola Council of Canada’s 2017 target.
“This is unreal,” said Cooper, who
credits such numbers to co-operation
between industry players, frombreeders
and producers to exporters and crushers.
“It’s difficult to get industry,
governments and research institutions all
on the same page,” he explained. “The
canola industry is a good example of
how we’ve managed to do that.”
It also illustrates the payoff in the
market-driven economics and value-
added opportunities Cooper favours.
Half the country’s canola crop is crushed
domestically, a value-added export of
which half again is exported.
“We have always wanted our decisions
to be based on science and on the
market,” he said of his canola association
work, pointing to advocacy for scientific
solutions as an industry weak point. “I
was pleased to see Saskatchewan has set
up an advocacy group within the Ministry
of Agriculture to do that.”
He also stands behind the industry’s
early adoption of genetic modification in
producing trans-fat-free canola and other
crops, a notoriously volatile subject.
“Nobody objected to that at the time.
There’s no reason to object now. There
have never been any health problems
with GMO crops.”
While he gets on well with farmers
and politicians, Cooper emphasizes that
good relations with industry are also
crucial.
“I learned quite early to respect
industry—even the railways, which are
easy to hate. I had a good relationship
with both CP and CN. I’m proud of that,
and that has continued.”
Canada is an exporting nation, he said.
“We rely on industry to make it
happen. We don’t want to be always
condemning the grain industries or the
railways. You’ve just got to say, ‘Lookit,
let’s talk about it, let’s work it out, and try
to pay our way and make it work.’”
Though he’s credited with influencing
the process, he downplays his part in the
elimination of the Canadian Wheat Board
(CWB) monopoly. The move did square
Winter
2014
Grains
West
36
HANGING WITH MR. & MRS. COOPER:
Bill Cooper and his wife, Gail,
in their Saskatoon home. Success also followed Gail, an accomplished softball
player and curler with a fruitful career at Blue Cross.
“The wild oats almost
did me in.”
– Bill Cooper