photo courtesy of Saskatchewan Archives

Ghosts on the Land

"There are so many variables in farming. It's hard for people to understand which part of the farming crisis is attributable to a systematic control and profit-taking elsewhere which sucks resources out of a rural community in such a way that it's impossible for the people who live there to actually continue."
      – Nettie Wiebe, Ph.D., former president, National Farmers' Union

The ghosts of Saskatchewan's rural heritage that haunt the modern prairie are not alone. A new spectre, the global corporate culture, is waging an invisible battle for control of the land. As the family farm slips closer to oblivion, this documentary examines the Canadian farm crisis through the stories of three Saskatchewan families—all of whom descended from original homesteaders working the land at the start of the 20th century. These farmers discuss the choices they've made to survive, whether that's meant selling off the family land or expanding massively only to watch the community wither as other families leave.

With commentary from Jack Stabler, Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Saskatchewan, renowned Canadian writer and farmer Sharon Butala, and Nettie Wiebe, Ghosts on the Land addresses the cultural and sociological consequences that accompany the death of the family farm.

Subject(s): Agriculture, Business, Community dynamics, Economics, Globalization, Saskatchewan