PONTEIX, Sask. – Allan Oliver wears several hats on any given day.
As a farmer, reeve and member of the Saskatchewan Farm Stress Line advisory group, he’s heard and seen it all.
He expects calls to the stress line to climb over the next couple of months as harvest winds up and bills come due.
But he said there is a difference in the types of calls coming in compared to the ones made during the farm income crisis of five years ago and through the BSE border closure.
Read Also
Stock dogs show off herding skills at Ag in Motion
Stock dogs draw a crowd at Ag in Motion. Border collies and other herding breeds are well known for the work they do on the farm.
“Farmers who do the calling are actually exploring their options,” he said. “Suicide calls are flattening out.”
According to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s annual report, the stress line received 1,001 calls in 2005 and 30.9 percent of them were related to financial matters.
Farmers may be exploring options, but it’s not clear how many of them will be able to move on. There are many reports of land offered for sale or rent but no takers.
Oliver, who farms near Aneroid, Sask., knows of land that still hasn’t been bid on two years after it was listed, making it impossible for retiring farmers to get out.
“I never ever thought I would see the day when land was rented to someone who would just pay the taxes,” he added.
He also worries about the stress levels placed on children who are caught in the middle of low commodity prices and parents working off the farm to make it pay.
In southwestern Saskatchewan, drought and gopher damage have added to the stress this year.
Oliver was part of a delegation scheduled to meet with agriculture minister Mark Wartman on Sept. 11 to ask for assistance. Several rural municipalities have either declared an emergency or are preparing to declare a disaster in the hope of receiving aid.
