Mar 17: BEST FROM THE BLOGOSPHERE

March 17, 2025

Looking for ways farmers can thrive in retirement

Writing in Country Guide, Helen Lammers-Helps notes that farmers have some unique challenges when it’s time to park the tractor for the last time.

“For many farmers, being a farmer is part of their fundamental nature. It’s who they are and they can’t imagine a time when they won’t be a farmer. Who hasn’t heard a farmer say they want to die farming,” she writes.

However, she continues, the day will come when farmers have to exit the vocation they love.

They may need to retire “for health reasons, to make room for the next generation,” or to fulfill a promise to a spouse that they would “slow down,” or for financial reasons, explains Lammers-Helps.

But even an unexpected exit from farming can be managed – with a little advance planning, the article suggests.

“The good news is that each of us has been through many life transitions, and with some effort to plan to use the supports and resources available, the post-farming years can actually be looked forward to with anticipation,” she continues.

The article quotes Waterloo, Ont.-based psychotherapist Chad Bouma as saying there is no “one-size fits all” strategy to assist farmers in retiring. Help from accountants and lawyers, he tells Country Guide, will help them with the complexity of leaving the farming business and (if applicable) dealing with succession planning.

There’s also the change in routines, perhaps after many decades of farming, the article notes.

Burlington, Ont.-based grief and trauma therapist Selena Jones tells Country Guide that “while retirement can initially bring relief, she has noticed the loss of routine leaves some people feeling anxious and listless, which can manifest as sleep difficulties, frustration, irritability and anger.”

She says the retiring farmer needs to focus on next steps.

 “Pay attention to what sparks your interest but also what you know you don’t want to do. Think about what you liked to do when you were younger. Make note of what you’d like to explore when you have more time,” she states in the article.

As well, she suggests people think about what gives them a sense of purpose and fulfillment beyond farming, the article notes.

“Is it being more involved in their community or have they been so involved that they need to take a step back? What do they need to feel like they are in equilibrium,” she asks in the article.

Be open, she tells Country Guide, to “trying a new hobby or checking out a new group.” She urges retirees to “have fun with it. It can open the door to something we had no idea we’d enjoy,” she adds.

Social connections are “incredibly vital,” she notes, saying retirement offers more time to spend with “nieces, nephews, and grandchildren, or to nurture old friendships.” Mentoring younger farmers is another way to find purpose in your life after farming, the article adds.

The article concludes by saying that it’s all right to reach out for help if your retirement from farming is not working out for you – there are plenty of resources to help. “We can’t always do it on our own – and we don’t have to,” notes Jones.

If you are self-employed, you are in charge of your own retirement savings plan. If you find the idea of investing daunting, consider joining the Saskatchewan Pension Plan, a do-it-yourself retirement system open to any Canadian with registered retirement savings plan room. SPP will look after the investing for you, growing your savings in SPP’s low-cost, professionally managed pooled fund. And when it’s time to retire, you can opt for the security of a lifetime monthly annuity payment, or the flexibility of SPP’s Variable Benefit.

Check out SPP today!

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Country Guide

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