The usual signs of spring are everywhere on the Prairies - the crocus, the robin, and the trail of dust in the distance as a field of dirt is plowed and planted. It's seeding time, and farmers from Morden to Grande Prairie once again cross their fingers and hope for the best.
There's no getting around it - farming is not for the meek. If it's not too dry, it's too wet. If it's not too wet, it's too cold. And if it's not too cold, grasshoppers eat whatever manages to grow.
The recently released 2006 census of agriculture from Statistics Canada shows a continuation of strong trends that have been reshaping Prairie agriculture over the past several decades. Fewer farmers are sticking around to brave the drought and flood and pests, and those that continue to farm are getting older.
Perhaps surprisingly to some, though, the census also revealed that the area of land being farmed is holding steady. With fewer and fewer farmers, that means that the average farm is getting larger. A greater number of farmers are working off the farm, too.
Today, three main types of farms make up the changing face of Prairie agriculture.
The first type - the traditional farm - is dwindling in number. Idyllic images of the family farm, with high grain prices, thriving rural communities, and a good living to be earned solely off the land, have been on a steady downward spiral for decades now.
The second type is the corporate farm, which makes farming profitable in the same way Henry Ford revolutionized the automobile industry: mass economies of scale. Size means everything. Often, the corporation is still family owned and operated, for example, by a few siblings or fathers and sons, and in many cases the owners still reside on the farms.
There's still a lot of money to be made in agriculture, but to make these economies of scale work, fewer farmers and larger farms are needed.
The third type of farm is the lifestyle farm. It's more about living on the land, not necessarily living off the land. In this model, one - or, more likely, two - adult income earners on the farm work full-time at jobs in a nearby city. Most of the farm work is done by hired contractors, or the land is rented out to a third party.
In 2006, more than half of all Prairie farmers earned at least some non-farm income. In Alberta, the province with the greatest opportunities for earning non-farm income, the proportion reaches 55 per cent.
And that number has been rising.
Lifestyle farming is especially attractive to young farmers, those with university educations, who may have inherited the land and enjoy the benefits of rural life. Given the current labour shortages, there are plenty of lucrative job options in the cities and towns across the Prairies - dealing insurance, working on oil rigs, selling RVs, etc. - and most offer fairly decent compensation. Farm income then becomes secondary.
Working in town offers white-collar career opportunities, and those are bringing some changing attitudes and priorities to the rural Prairies.
Many farmers are more likely to wear a shirt-and-tie to work than overalls and boots. Laptops and Starbucks replace shovels and the small-town coffee shop. Bad weather is less an issue of mortal importance, and more what it is for city folk - an inconvenience.
This spring, there is more optimism than usual for Western crop farmers.
The U.S. government's subsidies for plant-based ethanol have pushed up world demand for corn and, as a result, the price for corn - and canola and wheat - have risen quite smartly over the past year. Input prices are rising, too, though, which always makes farming less profitable.
Of course, the higher grain prices this spring are good news for the lifestyle farmer. Supplementary income is still income and, like everyone, they'd rather see it rise than fall. These lifestyle farmers are changing the face of the rural population in the West. With their careers in the city and grain prices rising, they just may be whistling a little louder this spring as they put on their suits, hop in their SUVs, grab an extra-large latte, and drive to work in the city.
The opinions expressed are Todd Hirsch's own.