What's a farmer to do in winter with spare time? Survey says...

By Maynard Vander Galien

There are approximately 120,000 family farms in Canada that will change ownership in the next 10 years. The two main reasons are: retirement age of the farmer and no sons/daughters willing to take over, and government/industry laws and environmental changes forced on the farmer.

So what are active retired farmers going to do with all that spare time they have now that they sold the farm and moved off the farm? Are they going to sit around the house with nothing to do? Will they travel some? What are their interests besides work?

What do farmers do in a winter with little or no snow when they have a lot of extra time on their hands? Do they have hobbies that keep them active? Do they spend time in front of the television? Are they on the Internet?

I put that one question to 60 farm folks — 30 men and 30 women.

Now you’re probably wondering how did I manage to get all those farmers to answer a nosey question about their private life. No problem at all. I had 60 answers. They were probably as curious as I was about the results. I heard things that made me laugh and even blush.

First, we’ll look at the women because they have hobbies. Men don’t. Six women said reading is their favorite winter hobby or pastime. Three women knit. Three scrap book. Two bead. Two skate and cross-country ski. Two said catching up on things. Two did visiting. Other individuals picked walking, watching TV sports, doing crafts, making jewelry, being a hockey mom, re-furbishing antique stairs, sewing, and painting. One woman, with a hearty laugh and a twinkle in her eye said, she and her husband catch up on sex. Good for them!

Jenny Denhartog of the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario (CFFO) said her winter hobby is horseback riding. Jenny and her family raise 73,000 chickens every six weeks on their broiler farm in Arthur, Ont.

Kathryn Mayberry, the Ontario Co-ordinator of the Canada Foodgrains Bank, who farms with her husband at Ingersoll, Ont. said she enjoys knitting during the winter months.

Now for the men. The work category is in first place with 11 farmers. Remember, we’re still talking about a winter hobby or pastime. Four farmers catch up on work. Three tinker. Two do repairs and two like to do bushwork or cut firewood.

There were nine farmers in what I refer to as "inside the house category." Three men said family time is important to them. Two watch TV. Two spend time on the Internet, (both dairy farmers). One reads. One sleeps. One has no hobby.

The outdoor recreation department has five farmers. Two play hockey. Two snowmobile. One does ice fishing.

In the "going out group" there are two farmers. One farmer enjoys going square dancing with his wife. A farmer, who is very involved in agricultural affairs, said he enjoys going to meetings.

Two of my neighbours, Beef farmer Bob Stuart and beekeeper Murray Borer, have the ultimate winter hobby. The two men have been busy every winter since 1991 building a ZenAir STOL Ch701 aircraft in Bob’s spacious, modern workshop. The day I stopped by for a visit they were busy doing rivets. That was five years ago. It’s a slow job building an entire airplane from a set of plans Bob purchased from the plane’s designer. Bob and Murray are content spending the winter afternoons building their aircraft rivet by rivet.

I called Bob last month to see when the two-seater airplane would be ready for take-off. He said it is 99.9 per cent finished. After the inspection this summer, a test pilot will take it up.

In concluding this poll I’ve realized that whatever it is that farmers and their wives do with extra time on their hands, it keeps them close to their work and to their families. They know what’s important.