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February 19, 1999
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Volume 6, Number 11 |
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About OCNCover
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PROFILECoordinator of Ag/Extension program is committed to farming culture and optimistic about its future
Corey Loessin, coordinator of the Certificates in Agriculture Program (CAP), is surprised each year at the range of students who participate. The program - which enables students to take as many as 22 classes by correspondence toward their Diploma in Agriculture - began in 1990 as a joint venture between the College of Agriculture and the Extension Division. Currently, 250 students are registered in the program, enrolment in which has been as high as 265. While most of the CAP students are from the prairie provinces, Loessin says people participate from as far away as eastern Canada, United States, and even Europe. An example, he says, is the postman from Edmonton who delivered his mail from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., then hurried home to work on seven CAP courses which he completed in one year. As with another student Loessin had who worked in the Canadian embassy in Norway, the postman wanted someday to follow his dream of farming. "In addition to farmers across the prairies who want to improve their skills in a high-risk business, we've had the whole gamut of professionals - high school principals, teachers, nurses, social workers - registered in these courses. As one might expect, they're very committed students." Loessin says CAP has occasionally been criticized for the level of success its students have attained.
"But when you look at who's taking CAP, that's not surprising. The mix of maturity and purpose makes for some very focused students." CAP courses are structured like any correspondence format, with course materials handed out at the beginning of a term, assignments mailed or faxed in at the due dates, and phone contact available with individual instructors during the session. "The collaboration between Agriculture, which supplies the academic expertise, and Extension, which provides the instructional design, makes the delivery of these outreach courses seamless." Loessin comes by his empathy for his students and the CAP program naturally. His degree is in Agriculture and, equally significant, he and his family operate a fourth-generation farm in the Radisson district. When his daughter started school a year ago, he and his wife Joan, who works as a consultant from home, decided to make the farm their permanent residence. "It means an hour's commute every morning and evening during the academic term. But the new double-lane highway makes that not too onerous." The Loessins feel it's essential to show a solidarity with the Radisson community by sending their children to the local school. "Most rural communities, especially those like Radisson which are located on good highways near major centres, are having a hard time maintaining services." And he says there are related problems. "For example, my one-year-old son is the only boy that's been born in the community in a 24-month period. How will he manage in school or on sports teams? The depopulation of rural Saskatchewan - and the subsequent reduction in the local tax base - is part of an ongoing crisis. It's unlikely many of these rural areas will ever expand unless they can attract industry." While Loessin realizes that the agricultural sector itself is in some trouble, he believes there's no life that can rival it. "The peacefulness of a rural community, where your children can safely play in spacious surroundings, and the immense pleasure of harvesting a crop that you've seeded are hard to beat." But he says few urban dwellers know the risks farmers are obliged to take each spring. "On our farm, we spend about $400,000 every spring just to get a crop in. When you're looking at the sort of risk that would make a Mississippi gambler blanch and you consider the hours of work you put in, you don't want your returns to be so small that you'll never make your operating costs for the next year." He estimates that during seeding and harvesting he puts in about 120 hours per seven-day week. During the rest of the summer, those hours are cut back to "only" 12 or so a day, six days a week.
"At a cost of $100 per acre and all that work, it's little wonder that farmers are becoming tired of working mega hours for low profit margins and ever higher debt loads." Nevertheless, he believes that farming has a future in Canada. "Since the quality of western Canadian grain is first rate and there's an increasing need around the world for such high quality food, it's hard not to be optimistic. Western Canadian farmers have a number of things going for them - they're environmentally responsible and they're keen to learn and practice soil conservation. If we ever get this question of international subsidies onto some sort of level playing field, we'll be able to make a go of farming in this province." He doesn't, however, see biotechnology as a panacea for farmers at the present time. "We have no problem adapting to the technology of using genetically modified varieties of crops, for example. If the product is better or if it can be produced in a more environmentally friendly manner, there's no scientific reason why we shouldn't. But farmers and consumers need to see a benefit. If the research companies want farmers to be enthusiastic, they'll have to ensure that there are some cost benefits for the farm business and some real benefits for consumers as well." Loessin is the outgoing president of the Saskatchewan Agriculture Graduates Association (SAGA), the 64 year-old alumni organization which, uniquely in Canada, is run directly by its members rather than a university alumni office. SAGA helps degree and diploma students around the world stay in touch through a regular newsletter and through annual reunions. "Apart from helping alumni to stay in touch, SAGA is actively involved in issues of concern to Agriculture graduates. We're currently funding a University barn[-refurbishment] feasibility study and, naturally, we were much involved in raising money for the Agriculture Building, to which a number of members made generous donations." The long love affair between the College of Agriculture and its graduates and the agricultural community in general is something Loessin hopes programs like CAP will continue to foster. "CAP is a good example of how the College helps younger farmers. It's an outreach program that gives the University the opportunity to maintain its historical links to the farm communities within the province." And on that note, Loessin returns to his deepest sentiment: "Farming is, after all, a great life if you can afford it. It's still so much a part of our collective prairie mind-set that you can still find many urbanites who would gladly abandon their desk jobs for the chance to be out building a fence or cutting hay." - Sigrid Klaus
For further information, visit the web site or contact communications@usask.ca
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Next issue of On Campus News: Friday, March 12
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