Saskatchewan farmers who break even this year should be happy with their performance, says a federal consultant.
John Spencer, who works for Agriculture Canada’s Farm Consultation Service, said farmers need to be more positive and recognize that they live in an area and work in an industry that relies on weather and nature.
“We’ll have years where things don’t go well,” he said.
Spencer, who works from a Clavet, Sask., office, did 60 presentations this year in front of 3,000 people, in addition to individual farm business counseling. His main message is that farmers need to put their situation into a broader perspective.
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“Most think they have nothing to work with,” he said.
“On the average farm in Saskatchewan, people own more (equity) than the banks do.”
He has worked with farmers and their debts for 12 years. Ten years ago he dealt with farmers who had a bunker mentality about their debt. It was all they could see, he said.
Today, Spencer is not telling them how to renegotiate debt, but how to plan. He advises them to do strategic thinking and identify what they want to do before deciding what action to take.
“First establish your priorities,” he said.
“Don’t let the bank or Mother or Father tell you what to do.”
He said farmers always feel their problems weighing on their shoulders. They try to remove that psychological weight with quick action, such as selling their cows or a quarter of land. Decisions are made as a knee-jerk reaction and often don’t feel like a success because the family isn’t sure this is really the direction they want to take.
Spencer said the most successful farm diversification in Saskatchewan is off-farm work. About 60 percent of all farmers aged 35 to 54, or their spouses, work at other jobs. But the family should decide if this is what it wants because other jobs dilute focus and drain energy from the farm.
“Anything larger than 1,000 acres, you can’t do a full-time off-farm job, especially if you have livestock.”
Spencer chooses not to practise what he preaches. Although he graduated in 1973 with an agriculture college degree, “I learned early I can’t farm.” But his words have influenced others.
Cecilia and Brian Olver have been growing grain on 3,600 acres near Windthorst, Sask., for 23 years. Last year was the worst, they said. But after hearing Spencer speak this winter they realized they weren’t alone.
“They offered me a light at the end of the tunnel,” said Cecilia.
“Our thinking has turned around already. Now we’re both optimistic about the new crop year.”
The meeting the Olvers attended was one of 10 held this winter in southeastern Saskatchewan. One of its organizers was Saskatchewan Agriculture agrologist Colin Beaulieu.
He said a group that included clergy, mental health workers and the local Agriculture Development and Diversification board began meeting in the fall and flagged farm stress as a particular issue in their area. Not only were commodity prices spilling red ink on farmers’ budgets, but spring flooding in 1999 meant some couldn’t grow anything but weeds.
“It all added up,” said Beaulieu.
“We couldn’t do anything as individuals, but together, maybe we could do something.”
The meetings featured Spencer, who spoke about the low-cost consultation service, and a representative from the provincial farm stress line, who recommended it as a resource centre as well as a crisis line. About 600 people attended and Beaulieu said the group was pleased with that number, “given the uncomfortable nature of the issues.”
Success has led the district to set up a pilot project looking for long-term ways to help people survive a farming crisis. A co-ordinator has been hired and more public workshops and individual counseling will be held after seeding, likely leading to another series of meetings this fall. The goal is to find options to help families.
“There may be a better way to quit than packing up your bags and leaving the farm,” Beaulieu said.
