The Canadian Agricultural Skills Program is giving Norman Gritzfeld a chance at a new career.
The 49-year-old cow-calf producer at Strasbourg, Sask., will spend the next few years working on a degree in psychology at the University of Regina en route to his goal of becoming a counselor.
“I wouldn’t be able to go without this financial assistance,” he said, citing support for tuition, books and mileage allowances for the three day a week commute to the city.
Gritzfeld will receive $16,000 from the program, designed to help farm families take classes to improve their on-farm skills or retrain for off-farm jobs to enhance their incomes.
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The money is not the only benefit, said the father of two.
“It gives people in our situation a ray of hope that we can find our way through this.”
Farms have been hit hard by declining returns and high inputs in addition to recent border closures and depressed cattle prices due to the BSE crisis that began almost four years ago.
Gritzfeld said other farmers have also benefited from CASS, by taking classes in accounting to help them run their farms better. His wife is also considering further education in her future.
The first-time university student admitted returning to the classroom was daunting but said he has settled into the routine. He looks to a career counseling others through tough times but hopes raising cattle will remain a constant in his life.
