For much of the twentieth century, United Grain Growers was one of the major forces in Canadian agriculture. Founded in 1906, for much of its history UGG worked to give western farmers a 'third way' between the competing poles of cooperatives like the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and the private sector. At its peak, more than 800 UGG elevators dotted the Canadian prairies and the company had become a part of western Canada's cultural psyche. By 2001, then known as Agricore United, it was the largest grain company on the Prairies. The UGG's history illuminates many of the intense debates over policy and philosophy that dominated the grain industry. After the Second World War, it would be a key player as the western Canadian grain industry expanded into new international markets. Through the rest of the century, it played an important role in resolving major disputes over regulation and grain transportation policy. Despite its many innovations, the company's final decade and eventual demise illustrated the tensions at the heart of the grain industry. In 1997, to finance the rebuilding of its grain elevator network, UGG went public and entered equity markets. While successful at first, this strategy also weakened the company's cooperative structure. In 2007, it was purchased by Saskatchewan Pool in a hostile takeover. The disappearance of Agricore United marked the end of a century of voluntary farmer-control of the grain business in western Canada. Paul Earl's history reveals UGG's central role in the growth and transformation of the western grain industry at a critical period. With meticulous research supplemented by interviews with many of the key players, he also delves into the details and the debates over the company's demise.--$cProvided by publisher.
Authors
Related Organizations
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references and index
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Date published
- 2019.
- Description conventions
- rda
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 381.1/413109712
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 23
- Distributor
- Canadian Electronic Library (Firm),
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- ISBN
- 9780887555923 0887558445
- LCCN
- HD9044.C24
- LCCN Item number
- A47 2019eb
- Modifying agency
- NLC
- Original cataloging agency
- NLC
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (xiv, 349 pages)
- Published in
- Ottawa, Ontario
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)kck00240493 (OCoLC)1110704613 (CaOOCEL)457013
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- YDX
Table of Contents
- Cover 1
- Contents 6
- Preface 8
- Introduction 16
- Part I: Birth and Growth 22
- Chapter 1: The Partridge and Crerar Years, 1906–29 24
- Chapter 2: The Law Years, 1930–47 58
- Chapter 3: A First Retrospective 86
- Part II: Maturity and Decline 96
- Chapter 4: The Brownlee Years, 1948–60 98
- Chapter 5: The Runciman Years, 1961–81 118
- Chapter 6: The Hehn Years, 1982–90 144
- Chapter 7: A Second Retrospective 162
- Part III: Demise 168
- Chapter 8: The Last Years, 1991–2007 170
- Chapter 9: The Takeover: How It Happened 198
- Chapter 10: The Takeover: The Argument in Favour 208
- Chapter 11: The Takeover: The Argument Against 226
- Chapter 12: The Takeover: A Legal Perspective 238
- Chapter 13: Why the Takeover Happened: 260
- A Concluding Retrospective 274
- Acknowledgements 290
- Statistical Appendix 292
- Notes 322
- Bibliography 344
- Index 352
