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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFarming '89, 1989-03-22, Page 33BIO. FARMING ‘89, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 1989. 35% of farm accidents aren't really accidents Continued from page B7 own life within a short span of time. Adding to the concern we are seeing a different type of suicide than before. In a 1986 report from the Ontario Farm Safety Associa­ tion it was established that 34.8 per cent of farm fatalities, such as tractor turnovers and silo gas were suicides. The conclusion drawn was that one out of every three farm deaths was attributed to stress due to financial difficulties affecting the farmer. This number is well above average. Brenda feels that the problem lies in the fact that farmers today are suffering from additional levels of stress. “Society has reached a point where today’s farmer is expected to work a 40-hour plus week (in an off-farm job) in addition to maintaining a farm. We have all these educated people telling us we must diversify, that the farm can no longer function on its own. When was the last time any of them ever cleaned out pig pens after putting in a full week in the job market? Let’s stop and be realistic. Where has the money that boosted our economy come from all these years?’’ she queried. Brenda believes that today’s society is badly out of sync and there are too many outside pressures being put on farm families. Today’s farmers have a decision to make says Brenda. They have reached a point where they must make the choice as to whether or not they keep a roof over their head or food on the table. Rural school teachers have no­ ticed an unsettling cycle develop­ ing in recent years. It is not uncommon for children, from farm homes to come to school without socks or hats, some frequently having only bread and butter for lunch. Research has shown that 35 per cent of the farms in Ontario cannot survive unless they have an inter­ est rate of eight per cent or lower. Yet, states Brenda the government keeps insisting that we must keep rates high to combat inflation even though it does not seem to be working. If 35 per cent of Ontario farms are in financial hardships why has nothing been done, ques­ tions Brenda. “If any other sector of our province were in this difficulty there is no way the government would sit on its duff like this; there’s no way it could. Nobody wants to hear about farm debt or believe there’s a crisis. They’re afraid to rock the boat.” Brenda doesn’t blame the finan­ cial difficulty suffered by farmers as the sole reason for the suicides. She describes the deepest pain and frustration as the “raping of the emotional spirit and the breaking down of the farm family. Farmers are told to be innovative, that they can no longer rely on the traditional means of farming.” She feels that struggling to cope with pressures few others can understand the farmers suffer intense loneliness and hopelessness, often question­ ing whether or not ther is anyone out there who’s on their side. The problems that arise are usually out of their hands, yet the burden of the blame is their’s alone. Brenda illustrates, “Interest is up, my yield was down, it rained too much, it didn’t rain enough.” They ask only that someone let them operate at a rate that is sustainable. “It would seem that before we can do something the penalty has to be life,” said Brenda. Most farmers simply want a roof over their head, to farm their 100 not 600 acres. Nor are they asking for brand new machinery, remark­ ed Brenda. She noted that her most poignant memory was of a woman whose husband committed suicide. She wrote in a letter that was later published, “It would have been easier for him to cope with me dying than it was for him to lose his farm. When he lost the farm he lost his credibility, his pride, every­ thing that was my husband.” A song by Cat Stevens entitled, “Morning Has Broken” has be­ come a favourite hymn in churches, proclaiming the beauty, quality and hope of human life. One line declares, “God’s recreation of a new day.” This is the most difficult job facing the people of Queen’s Bush. To try to make the farm family understand there is some­ thing to look forward to, to go on to, to see there is a future. Brenda Mason Convincing farm families they do have a future.