Q: What do you do when you just get tired of trying to make a go of farming? To me, things have gone from bad to worse in the past year. I don’t know how we can continue to farm when all we seem to do is lose money each year and get deeper in debt.
A: Farming has always had natural hazards: insects, crop diseases, unpredictable weather. During the Depression, it led farmers to give up on their land, especially in the south, and head farther north looking for new land. But we are now running out of that option on the Prairies. The biggest hazard to farmers is the international political scene, where countries are spending huge amounts to keep farmers on the land producing large crops, which then have to be sold at discount prices, bringing down world prices.
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I am not a financial expert or a farm marketing expert. I am more experienced in dealing with people problems.
I encourage anyone in financial stress to explore some of the debt management programs that have been established. The sooner you address a financial problem, the better are the hopes to resolve it.
What I have learned in life is that the most important thing when you are facing a problem is to share it with someone else. Hopefully that person understands, or is willing to listen and start to understand.
It is normal and easy to get angry at governments, our own and others, that have created this depressed market. But anger uses up energy. Being angry tires a person quickly.
If more farmers met with their neighbours, and all were open and honest about their financial situation, then several things could happen.
People might not feel so alone and isolated. Small groups of people might find ways to co-operate and stretch and share resources.
These groups may also get attention from the media, and ultimately from the politicians.
If enough farmers shared the human stories of the struggles they are going through, either in public or by e-mail or fax, they may be heeded as a group rather than isolated as an individual. When people get tired of, or perhaps start to become sensitive to human needs by receiving such stories regularly, things are bound to happen.
Peter Griffiths is a mental health counsellor based in Prince Albert, Sask. His columns are intended as general advice only. His website is www3.sk.sympatico.ca/petecope.
