This issue’s publication date is the night before Christmas, a time for family, friends, religious observances and long-standing Christmas traditions.
But it’s also time to think about how privileged we are to live in an affluent, well-fed country and take stock of our good fortune.
We have a lot to be thankful for when we compare our standard of living to people living in poverty-stricken or war-torn regions.
On the rural Prairies there is a wealth of family, friends and community circles. Due to their remoteness, some areas lack access to certain services, but rural residents have built strong support networks, and few people can be counted on more.
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Late season rainfall creates concern about Prairie crop quality
Praying for rain is being replaced with the hope that rain can stop for harvest. Rainfall in July and early August has been much greater than normal.
Need elder care? Call a neighbour. Need a rink built? Call a local service group. Need a ride to get seniors to doctors’ appointments? Call a friend. Need somebody to help out at 4-H? Call the people who staffed the kitchen at the last church function.
The willingness to lend a hand and the inventiveness at solving problems is a lynchpin that holds rural communities together. We are thankful for those people.
The economic situation in agriculture is also something for which to give thanks.
People living on the rural Prairies have seen better times, no doubt, but rather than becoming too engrossed in what might have been, take time to consider how much most of us have compared to what we actually need to live comfortable, satisfied lives.
Wheat and canola are down from the exceptional levels of a few years ago, but thanks to a weaker loonie and strong demand farmers are seeing adequate cash flow in most cases
And if you have lentils, yellow peas or chickpeas, you have reason to smile a little more broadly.
There is a long winter of marketing yet to come and prices could still slide, but we can give thanks that farming provides for our families.
This year marked an exceptionally strong period for cattle markets. Drought looked set to ruin pastures this spring and early summer, particularly on the central Prairies, but the worst fears never materialized, although some areas did take serious hits.
There was good news on the trade front too, with supply managed sectors preserved under the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, which also shows good potential for beef, pork, grains and oilseed producers.
The U.S. country-of-origin labelling law is drawing its last breath and that too should inspire thanks from beef and pork producers and those spin-off industries that depend on their well-being.
We are lucky enough to live in a society so prosperous that such gifts and advantages are overlooked as ordinary and every day.
When we pause and count our blessings this holiday season, let’s be generous to those who don’t have such good fortune.
Merry Christmas.
