Overconfidence and Hubris: The Demise of Agricultural Co-operatives in Western Canada
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The last two decades have seen major changes to the agricultural landscape in
Canada and with them major changes to the co-operative sector. The grain
handling co-operatives in Western Canada have disappeared, as have their
counterparts in the dairy and poultry sectors. Outside of Western Canada, and
particularly in Québec, co-ops in the latter sectors have remained successful,
while rural retail and farm input co-operatives continue to thrive in all parts of
the country. The purpose of this paper is to trace the changes that have occurred
in the rural co-operative sector in Canada over the last 10-15 years. Particular
attention is paid to the large agricultural co-operatives in Western Canada, since
their decline has been particularly acute. It is argued that the overconfidence and
hubris of co-op management were major contributing factors to the conversion of
these co-ops to IOFs.