BSE! Get A Job?

Clint Cavers and his youngest daughter Autumn near Pilot Mound, Manitoba

On May 23rd 2003, the discovery of BSE in the National herd shocked the cattle industry and forced Canadian cattle farmers to re-evaluate their livelihood strategies. When farm incomes dropped in the wake of BSE, the availability of off-farm employment contributed to the resiliency of many farm households.

For some farmers, off-farm employment represented an exodus from agriculture into a more secure wage-earning position. One farmer explains, “I think I will quit this loosing business and get a paying job so I can raise my family with dignity.” Yet, part-time off-farm employment is not necessarily the prelude to complete farm exiting. It has rather become a crucial condition (more…)

Agriculture and Social Science – The Missing Links at PrioNet 2009

Word Cloud - PrioNet Poster 2009

Last week, I attended a conference in Edmonton hosted by PrioNet Canada. PrioNet was established in response to the socio-economic fallout and the potential human health implications of the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or Mad Cow crisis in 2003. The organization has evolved substantially since then. Attendees at the conference included academics, politicians, bureaucrats, students, and one farmer (as far as I could tell). The majority of the delegates were Scientists working to uncover the mystery of the Prion or the protein that is believed to be the cause of BSE and other related diseases including Chronic Wasting Disease, Scrapie and the human variant of BSE: Creutzfelt Jacob Disease. (more…)