CLEARDALE, Alta. – This spring Stan and Cindy Braim made a tough decision. After 23 years of farming, they quit.
Farm life was good, but for the past four years the couple has been unable to make money. They’ve seen their earnings disappear like thistledown in a wind.
The Braims like to farm, but they’re no longer prepared to stay in a business where they can’t make money.
“We’ve had to come to a conclusion and be at peace with that,” said Cindy, while watching a crowd pick through their belongings during their farm auction on a muddy spring day.
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The decision to stop farming was one they mulled over for a long time. Last year they wondered if they should put in a crop. They took a chance and reaped an average harvest. Their wheat graded No. 1, but with some of the poorest grain prices in years, it wasn’t enough to pay the bills.
They also thought maybe they weren’t working hard enough. They bought 180 cows and expanded out of grain and grass seed. Then the bottom dropped out of beef prices when BSE was discovered last May in a northern Alberta cow.
“I’ve never been in this situation before in my life,” said Stan.
The bank hasn’t ordered them out of the business, but the couple knew it was time to quit.
“It doesn’t seem to matter how big you get or how hard you work,” said Stan, adding the combination of financial stress and overwork turned the life he loved into a chore.
“It’s getting to be more of a drag and drudgery. There comes a time when you have to make a decision.”
It’s not the first farm sale for the couple. In 1993, they sold their central Alberta dairy farm at New Norway and moved north to Cleardale in Alberta’s Peace River area. The sight of the newly broken fields, flat land and large farms close to the British Columbia border was enticing.
Despite the struggles, Cindy said the Peace country has been good to the family. Two of their three daughters have married local men and their third daughter is at a nearby Bible college.
With the children away from home, the couple is able to consider moving on.
“We’re ready for a different stage of our life. It’s time to take another step,” said Cindy.
The couple plans to carry out mission work through their church.
“I want to spend the rest of my life working with people. I’ve learned a lot farming, a lot about life and people, and I want to use some of that life experience to help people,” Stan said.
The Braims have already sold eight quarters to their neighbours for 10 percent down and a payment plan that covers the next 10 years.
The Braims will keep five quarters until they are able to sell their cattle when prices increase.
Once they get the farm down to one or two quarters, with a few cows and a new career, part-time farming might be fun, Stan said.
