Saskatchewan Wheat Pool

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Saskatchewan Wheat Pool has a network of marketing alliances in North America and internationally which has made it the largest agricultural grain handling operation in the province of Saskatchewan. The Sask Wheat Pool operates under the name of AgPro in the prairie provinces of Manitoba and Alberta.

Farmers, frustrated in their attempts to win a fair price for their wheat, started to look to various marketing systems between 1900 and 1920. The co-operative style of organizing farm operations was one of them. As early as 1902, farmers banded together as the Territorial Grain Growers Association The TGGA became the Saskatchewan Grain Grower's Association in 1906 and also at this time and established the farmers co-operative elevator company called the Grain Growers Grain Company. From the GGGC expansion came the United Grain Growers and the Saskatchewan Co-operative Elevator Company. In 1911 The Saskatchewan Cooperative Elevator Company was formed. The Farmers Union of Canada launched the Wheat Pool in 1924. Saskatchewan Grain Growers Association (SGGA) met with the United Farmers of Alberta and United Farmers of Manitoba and formed the Saskatchewan Co-operative Wheat Producers Ltd. on Aug. 25, 1923. Informally it was known as the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool as it collectively helped farmers get a decent price for wheat. The first president was A.J. McPhail and the first elevator was built in Bulyea in 1925 (in the area of Section 36, Township 16, Range 15, W of the 2nd meridian). The Saskatchewan Cooperative Wheat Producers Ltd. bought out the Saskatchewan Cooperative Elevator Company in 1926. In 1953 The Saskatchewan Co-operative Wheat Producers Ltd. was renamed the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool.

	The pool is the world's largest farm, the world's largest shipper of wheat, the Biggest Business in Canada – and it was built by the Man Behind the Plow.
—W.A. Irwin, 1929, Civilization.ca - Canada Hall - King Wheat -Saskatchewan Grain Elevator

Farmers organize the Wheat Pool

The Wheat Pool elevators have been sentinels in many prairie towns since the early 1900's. They are the topic of several prairie landscapes and photographs. The Wheat pool calendar map or Country Elevator System calendar maps were a mainstay of many pioneer household. These calendar maps showed the networking of the early CNR and CPR rail lines, the many early incoporated areas, as well as the location of the grain elevators. The pictures which surround the elevator map of grain delivered by horse and wagon, early truck, and grain handling at the ports along the calendars show the evolution of the grain handling industry. In the early 20th century, grain elevators dotted the prairies every 6-10 miles apart, as that was a good day's journey for farmer and horse with a full load. Farmers can find services available to buy and grade grain at the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool elevators. The Pool Farm Service Centers provide a place for farmers to pick up fertilizer and chemicals. Highways, trucks, tractors, and combines revolutionized the farming industry after the industrial revoultion in and around the era of World War II. These changes gradually led to the rail system facing derugulation and consolidation changes, many branch lines closed down, and there was increased loading quotas available to railcars for grain, specialty crops and even oilseeds. These developments led to newer and more advanced state-of-the-art grain handlings systems called SWP Terminals which serve larger surrounding farming areas.

The 'crib' style wood elevator of the 19020s could handle 100 tonnes of grain per hour. The elevator pit could contain approximatley 10 tonnes of grain, which would be about the load delivered by one farmers grain truck. In comparison, the new "high-throughput" elevators constructed of slip-formed cylindrical concrete. have a 11,500 tonne (418,000 bushel) capacity, whereas the condominium storage facility is able to contain 16,000 tonne (582,000 bushel).

[edit] See also

Alberta Wheat Pool

[edit] Books

25 Years with the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool by Saskatchewan Wheat Pool employees' Association Publisher: Saskatchewan Co-Operative Producers Limited Place: Regina, Saskatchewan Date published: 1949

From prairie roots: The remarkable story of Saskatchewan Wheat Pool (Hardcover) by Garry Lawrence Fairbairn Hardcover: 318 pages Publisher: HarperCollins Canada / Greystone Book (Jan 1 1984) Language: English ISBN 0-88833-127-4

Wheat Kings: Vanishing Landmarks of the Canadian Prairies (Hardcover) by Greg McDonnell Hardcover: 120 pages Publisher: Boston Mills Press (October 2, 2004) ISBN 1-55046-249-0

The Diary of Alexander James McPhail by Harold A. Innis, Alexander James McPhail Review author[s]: Harald S. Patton Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science / Revue canadienne d'Economique et de Science politique, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Feb., 1941), pp. 122-124