WARMAN, Sask. – Gary Boe of Triple M Ranch near Saskatoon is jumping to no conclusions when he says his missing hydraulic pump has been “borrowed.”
Last week, Boe hung his hand-made poster in the front window of his swather, which is parked in his hay field along the fence. The poster reads: “Aug. 18-23. Whoever borrowed a hydraulic pump from this swather, please return it.”
Boe discovered the hard way that the pump from his 1976 Co-op 550, Flying Machine swather was missing. He was swathing his hay and went to lift the table before hitting a rock and there was no response.
Read Also
Ag in Motion speaker highlights need for biosecurity on cattle operations
Ag in Motion highlights need for biosecurity on cattle farms. Government of Saskatchewan provides checklist on what you can do to make your cattle operation more biosecure.
Thinking a lack of oil had prevented the hydraulics from engaging, he avoided the rock and continued the round until he reached his truck. Then he went in for a closer look.
“(I) lifted my (swather’s) hood and there was no pump. Hoses were undone, belt was off. Needless to say, I knew what had happened. I phoned the cops,” he said.
The pump on Boe’s machine had been stolen.
“He probably figured he needed it more than me. But now what am I going to do? If he had come to me and asked to borrow it, I would have gladly lent it.”
Const. Mel Zurevinsky of the Warman RCMP detachment said in 10 years of policing, he’s seen only two such instances.
“Once in a while you see a missing battery or an auger motor. In tougher times you might see more of these types of happenings. I know of many farmers on the verge of bankruptcy. I can see more of these things happening. I haven’t seen many yet,” said Zurevinsky.
“We look at wreckers, dealerships that may supply that type of product. The missing part is pretty much limited to the make and model.”
Boe bought his swather about 10 years ago and it’s the only swather he has.
“I’ll probably look for a pump at the wreckers or put an ad in the Producer. Many of these swathers are parked at the back of farmers’ fields. There’s a few around the country.”
He said as the urban sprawl around Saskatoon grows, it is changing how he views his neighbourhood.
“It’s the people. Out in the country everyone knows everyone. It’s more of a community. You have to trust your neighbours; you need them.
“You get closer to the city, you get more leery. You lose trust,” said Boe.
For now though, Boe is counting on the community of prairie farmers, his posted sign and Western Producer readers to locate his hydraulic pump.
He asks that anyone with information call him at 306-934-5918 or the RCMP at 306-975-1670.
