Want a good time? Then don't.....

[cowman]

Hauled a couple of bulls into the sale at Red Deer today. Did okay. The price wasn't much to write home about but they weighed up pretty good.
I'm sitting there watching the cows sell with a couple of buddies(lots and lots of cows and calves!). There is a family sitting just in front of us and their cows and calves come in. Prices are not good and first off one kid starts to cry, then the other and pretty soon the mother. Finally the father(who looks pretty shaky himself) gets them out of there. Not a pretty picture.
Later I learned a fairly young father, from Consort Alberta, Took a load of calves into the Innisfail mart yesterday. The prices were dismal and he passed them and took them home. Unloaded them in the pasture and shot himself! Two others last week one east of Ponoka and one at Lac la Biche. The guy at Lac la Biche sold his cows and calves went home and shot himself at the kitchen table with the check sitting in front of him.
Now I don't know about you but these sort of things just about make me puke! I feel outraged! The problem is at who? You wonder where the hell were their families, friends, or neighbors? You wonder if the government could have done anything? But in the end it is just this damned drought! There was a letter in the latest issue of the Western Producer that said you can hear the hearts breaking all over the west...never were truer words written.
But if you are contemplating suicide as a solution, please don't! Talk to someone. A friend, a neighbor, your mother, but don't do it!

[paladin]

Cowman, I don't think I've ever read a posting on here that made me cry, but this one did. The depth of despair out there is truly profound.

[jensco]

I don't know what to say but need to emphasize Cowman's last statement. Find another way! Suicide is not the answer.

I know another's compassion will not solve the problems but know that many of us are sending out support via the net.

Aside: Sheds a new light on sending Canadian financial support to Africa, doesn't it? In some areas of western Canada, the bottom was reached a long time ago.

[carebear300]

Suicide is such a waste!!!!!!!!When will this government wake up and realize that they have to do something constructive to help farmers. The situation will only get worse unless something is done quickly.

[cowman]

I kind of lost my original thought when I wrote this thread. What I was going to say was "then don't...go to your local mart because it is very depressing" The suicide thing was very upsetting but no more, for me, than that family crying. It was like the dream was over for them. I've always had a soft spot for farm kids...hell I felt like bawling with them! I also think of the spouses, families, and kids of those guys who shot themselves...not a very nice picture.
The auction mart used to be a lot of fun. See your friends and neighbors, get caught up on all that's happening, laugh and joke. Now it's all desperate grim faced people sitting there watching a lifes work go down the drain. Nothing positive, all negative. Not a nice place to be. A very quiet place.
I doubt there is really anything the government can do, but it would be nice if they made some attempt. There used to be these suicide hotline things, I don't know if they even have them anymore? I think they got their funding cut and had to close. I'd even volunteer to work on one! I'm no shrink but I can be pretty down to earth and practical if I have to be and I might be able to talk someone out of it. And I might even be able to sc**** up a few bucks to support it. I think I can get a glimmer of what these guys are thinking...no solution, no tommorrow, rather be dead than lose everything that ever meant anything to them. For every problem there is a solution! That solution is NOT blowing your brains out!!! It might be completely different than what they believe...the dream doesn't have to die but it might need some major adjustment! As long as you are above ground you're not beat!

[cowman]

The federal government we've got will say gun control is the cure to the problem. We moved from Alberta to Saskatchewan and while we aren't real wet things are going well as far as grass and crop conditions go and I have thought over the last few weeks as AB dried out again that there must be people feeling real despair and desperation having their hopes that the drought was over destroyed. Suicide is not a cure for the drought or low cattle prices or anything else. When these people feel completely isolated and abandoned it must seem like an option to them. The feds are going to ignore this situation until it starts to rain and then congratulate themselves on having known the rain would come. I'm starting to agree with others on this site that separation is a real option because we aren't really part of Canada anyway. It is sickening that we have so many politicians who are damned poor human beings. If other governments can help with natural disasters then ours should too.

[Muttley]

It truly is a waste to end it all with death as the only solution they could think of. I myself have said that if I couldn't farm or ranch life might as well end, well guess what there is a lot more to life then these damn farms. I've spent 20 years trying to make it better and we just keep getting kicked in the teeth. Well enough is enough I am done I'm keeping a few cows and heading back to work. I'm tired of feeding the world by working 7 days a week and not enjoying life.
I have just spent the last 4 afternoons camping and swimming with my family(I can make bales and cut hay morning and nights)I have learned the hard way that it's time to enjoy instead of working all the time for nothing. The politicians of this country can just "take this job and shove it I ain't working here no more".

Talk to you all later I'm going fishing tonight with my kids.
Muttley

P.S. - I have hay ready to bale. If you could go fishing with your kids or baling what would you do!!!

[carebear300]

Fishing is a good choice!!!!!I have come to almost the same solution as you life is way to short. I took today off never would have thought of that ten years ago. Society isn't paying me to work that hard seven days a week. What I don't get done today will be there tomorrow, and if it isn't it won't really matter. Did you notice that our old friend(HAHa) in Ottawa, Goodale is recomending that we all produce livestock, so past experience tells me that, that should be enough to screw up the cattle business for at least ten years.

[oldboy]

To all who responded, Alberta does'nt seem to recognize the plight of rural people, but there is a farm stress line in Sask., complete with a toll free number. If you're on the web, just fo to farmstress.com. I haven't used it, but got a flyer in the mail last summer, and checked it out on the web. Looks like some folks could use a little objective and outside advice. This has got to stop. God bless those poor souls who thought there was no other way.

[cowman]

On the local news last night they gave out a farmer stress line for Alberta.
1-877-303-2642.
I have a friend who works for Alberta Ag and she says the suicides have caused quite a stir in Edmonton. They got the ministers attention.
I suspect we will soon see some sort of action even if it is just smoke and mirrors!
How come the doctors, nurses, teachers and other various govt. workers can get the message across that if they don't get a double digit raise it is the end of the world, but farmers have to shoot themselves to get some action? To hear the teachers and govt. workers talk the 5% cut in pay they took back in the early nineties was the greatest hardship since the great depression!!! Well how would they like to take a 100% pay cut(or maybe more!) like a lot of people in the drought areas? The government seems to think it is okay...afterall farmers can live on all that money they saved up in the last few years while they were gouging the consumer! I guess they don't realize it was good old Safeway and Superstore who were doing the gouging? Now I don't follow the meat prices in the supermarket but I suspect prices won't have dropped that much, even though the price for fat cattle has dropped quite a bit. They always have some sort of explanation why they just can't do it.