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“Politics is about trying to get done
what you believe you need to get done.
You try to lead people in a certain
direction,” she explained.
Buth particularly enjoyed the breadth
of experience the job gave her.
“One day I might be subbing in for
somebody on a committee where we
were discussing the succession to the
throne in England, and then the next
day I would be talking to a pig farmer
from Manitoba, and then the next day
I’d hear from a student association
about the price of textbooks,” said
Buth. “You get to participate in a lot of
different areas.”
Buth would likely still be a senator if the
Cigi job hadn’t suddenly opened up.
“I wasn’t actually looking,” she
insisted. “The Senate has been through
a lot of turmoil in the last few years, but
I still believe in the institution and what
it’s doing.”
Still, Buth couldn’t pass up the chance
to take on yet another new challenge.
“I just thought it was a really great
opportunity to come back into the ag
industry, and to work in an organization
that’s a real jewel.”
Buth’s close friend Trish Jordan,
public and industry affairs director with
Monsanto Canada, is happy to help
welcome her home.
“I’m sorry to lose her in the Senate—
she was such a great advocate for our
industry and for Manitoba—but I’m really
excited for her new opportunity,” said
Jordan. “Cigi is a key institution for the
grain sector, and JoAnne brings a set of
skills that will be really welcome. She’s
going to do a great job there.”
At Cigi, Buth looks forward to helping
the grains industry adapt to the new
environment of open grain marketing.
“The whole purpose is to bring value
to growers,” she said. “The focus needs
to be on new markets, new customers
and higher value. If you get increased
demand at a higher value, that will
translate to the grower getting more
money. At the end of the day, we don’t
have an industry unless the grower
chooses to grow it.”
She sympathizes with farmers who find
themselves grappling with the transition.
“It was much simpler when there was
just one marketer. But I think there are
many more opportunities now.”
Buth points to Cigi’s long-running
combine-to-customer course as one
way the organization is working to help
producers cope.
“The more knowledge farmers have,
the better decisions they make.”
With her Senate days behind her,
Buth is also hoping to find more time for
escaping into her artistic interests. Her
current passion is painting on silk.
“You don’t think about anything except
the line that you’re making, or the colour
that you’re using,” she said. “It takes
you out of yourself. It clears your mind,
and all sorts of things get solved when
you’re not actually thinking about it.
Somehow, in the back of your mind, your
subconscious is sorting through things. It
leaves you refreshed and ready to tackle
things again.”
Things like her new position as Cigi’s
CEO, is just the latest opportunity in a
lifetime of opportunities.
Fall
2014
grainswest.com
45
A SENATOR NO LONGER:
Buth had one of the shorter stints as a Canadian senator, serving
about two-and-a-half years in Canada’s upper chamber.