The stewards of the land, the tillers of the soil and the caretakers of animals were once widely considered by urban dwellers to be engaged in a noble trade, busily producing food for the masses.
Farmers toiled in some distant place, close to nature, and were blessed with independence, open spaces and clean air.
Over time, technology and economies of scale led to larger farms. Those same elements contributed to larger cities. Farmers continued to work hard and produce food for the masses, although the processes and the challenges changed.
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When urban dwellers sought the quiet and fresh air they equated with country living and farm life, they found the farm wasn’t quite so distant anymore, nor the reality so idyllic.
It turned out rural life involved manure and odours and fertilizers and chemicals – common stuff on an intellectual level, but different when seen up close.
The urban masses discovered farmers had grown beyond the pastoral image. Some of those masses haven’t forgiven them for it. Out came the “polluter” label.
The French have coined a word for urban dwellers who move to the country and get more – or less – than they bargained for. Such people are les rurbans, the rural urbans.
The Times of London used the phrase in a recent story about a French farmer ordered to pay $49,500 Cdn in damages because his cattle disturbed the neighbours.
Jean-Michel Deserces had followed the rules in managing his 140-head herd, said the story. But newcomers to the region took issue with the moo and the poo. A battle continues to “defend a cow’s right to moo,” reports the Times.
We see the same sorts of conflicts on the more sparsely populated prairies, though so far without courts and damages.
More battles are inevitable, considering disputes surrounding feedlot odours, hog barn locations and urban spread into nearby small towns.
There are no simple solutions, but in cases where conflict splits along rural and urban lines, as it often does, couldn’t the path be smoother?
What if rurbans did their homework to ensure the rural life they covet is one they can reasonably expect? In other words, as in the France case, don’t buy property next to a livestock operation and then complain about the smell.
On the rural side, what if newcomers were welcomed as new blood, economic drivers, and answers to the problems of rural depopulation, dwindling communities and loss of voting power?
