There is a 15-acre field of wheat east of our house. It carries the weight of signalling just how much crop damage occurred during the wild squalls that seem to unleash a few minutes of terror every night at around 4 a.m.
This is an exaggeration, but the Starbuck wheat I stare at every morning has been punched down by rain and wind more times than I can recall.
The fatalist in me fears that it won’t have the strength to return to its feet if Mother Nature is able to land another blow. I’ve thought this many times this summer, and so far, those plants have proven me wrong, summoning the strength to stand up and live another day.
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The lesson I have to learn and re-learn and re-re-learn is simple: wait, be patient and don’t make hasty declarations.
Farming and the machinations of the global agricultural industry are ripe for the kinds of impulsive responses I see from political leaders hoping to use the current tumult to grow their supporter bases by fomenting divisiveness. They are also prone to the kinds of impulsive responses I see from farmers publicly pinning all of agriculture’s woes on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The politicians are playing politics. And the hatred toward Trudeau is lazy thinking. I believe Trudeau is aloof toward Canada’s agricultural sector, but I also believe Western Canada’s agricultural sector has taken a sledgehammer and driven down the wedge, widening the gap between our sitting government and an industry tasked with food production.
Sometimes, it seems dire. Regulations seem to be moving in the wrong direction. Non-tariff market barriers seem to be on a feral and irrational trajectory. There’s post-COVID stress masquerading as sharp political commentary in the global marketplace, in government, in our coffee shops and on our farms.
Here’s the challenge: you’re sitting in the corner of the ring. It’s round eight. You’ve been getting pummelled. You’re hurt, breathing heavy and having trouble visualizing the end. Things are looking grim. Your coach is squirting water into your mouth moments before the next round.
The ag industry needs to find a way to identify credible science surrounding the focuses of our current government and the global marketplace — sustainability and climate change. It needs to be critical of it without prejudice, ignorance and without sounding like its grievances are merely justifications for maintaining the status quo.
It needs to acknowledge the good and specifically address the untenable. It then needs to find a way in the current milieu of social media to elevate the level-headed voices who are able to talk about science and ideas as separate from political ideology.
I’m not sure if this is the pep talk needed to get you through the fog or to get you through round nine, but these thoughts weigh on me. I see a lot of hatred out there and I can’t help but think it’s misplaced.
I am critical of our politicians. I hope I will always be. But I don’t believe Canada’s current government has warranted the kinds of protests that were previously only known to happen in dictatorships, a word that has real meaning and shouldn’t be used as flippantly as it has been.
This year, farming is happening in a fog, and keeping my outlook safe from the darkness that comes packaged with the industry’s current uncertainty is not easy. It’s sunny outside right now. The wheat is standing up straighter than it was after the last torrent of rain a few days ago. Things look better than they did a few hours ago. I’m standing and ready for the next round.
Toban Dyck farms in southern Manitoba and shares his thoughts through media platforms.
