A sleepy farmer is a dangerous farmer. If we are to reduce the number of farm accidents, our farmers must start getting some decent sleep.
Such is the rationale behind the April 1 release of Sleepless in Saskatchewan, a DVD sponsored by the Agricultural Health and Safety Network. Sleep researcher Jon Shearer has compiled what appear to be useful habits and remedies to foster restful, uninterrupted sleep, whether farmers are sleepless in Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba or British Columbia.
So equipped, it should be no trouble at all for ranchers to sleep soundly – right after the 9 p.m. calving check and the midnight calving check and again after the 2 p.m. calving check, any of which can feature adrenalin boosting cow chases.
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Why, it’s no problem to catch uninterrupted Zs in those magic hours between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m., until the clock radio wakes them with the often distressing market report.
Likewise, sleep should come easily to grain farmers once they’ve finished worrying about lack of rain, too much rain, rain at the wrong time, rain in the wrong place, and frost.
With those moisture questions put to bed, sweet dreams are possible for farmers, unless they are irrigating, in which case thoughts of pivots running or not running result in farmers counting towers and nozzles instead of sheep.
But slumber could bring its peace, once past those hurdles, unless the anti-soporific specters of hail and hungry insects insert themselves between dreams and nightmares.
Their subsequent 40 winks could easily be interrupted by thoughts of large wheat and canola stocks weighing on markets, European rejection of genetically modified crops and good growing conditions in other competitive and productive parts of the world that lower prices.
Even so, the sandman could take weary farmers to the land of Nod, except for contemplation of the Canadian dollar at par and the stress of supporting a losing team in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
But once past all those things, a deep and restful sleep could be theirs. Until the power goes out or the cows get out. You know, this DVD sounds like a darned good idea.
