For years, many city folk have envied the luck of those rural folk who have oil wells right on their property.
Well, there is no doubt there is a direct correlation between the province's economic wealth of the past decade and the upswing in oil and gas drilling.
But that doesn't necessarily mean that those closest to the oil are benefitting the most ... or for that matter, are always completely delighted about the arrangement of oil companies coming on their land to drill.
"I think there is a misconception that farmers are getting rich off this (surface rights agreements)," said Emily Eaton, associate professor at the University of Regina's Department of Geography, who is currently studying the impact of the oil economy on rural Saskatchewan. "They're not."
Contrary to the belief of many city people - and maybe some rural neighbours, as well - most farmers don't hold the mineral rights to their land. In most cases, those rights were long ago lost - sometimes sold by previous owners or grandparents or great grandparents to get through tougher times.
Surface rights leases are just compensation for intruding on the property and taking land out of production.
Of course, there are many farmers or ranchers who have no problem with the private lease right arrangements they have struck with the oil companies that provide extra cash for the farming or ranching operations. But there are others who are both unhappy with their arrangement and very unhappy with both the process and act under which these leases are made.
Eaton said the average lease arrangement is between $1,500 and $3,000 a year which sometimes doesn't cover the cost of taking the land out of production - let alone the cost of salt water damage, access roads, natural gas flare offs or other factors that may have a lasting impact.
Miles Vass, president of the Southeast Saskatchewan Landowners Group, is even more blunt, suggesting that most farmers and ranchers wouldn't want drilling on their land if they had any choice in the matter. However, because oil and gas are deemed provincially held resources owned by everyone, landowners can't really refuse access.
Vass laments the cumbersome appeal process and the tactics used by some oil companies to get landowners' to agree to leases which are accompanied with confidentiality clauses.
And like many others, he recognizes it's not a very fashionable to complain about the oil industry in a lot of Saskatchewan communities that do benefit from the job and economic boom that it brings.
At the very least, ranch and farmland owners would at least like to see changes to the Surface Rights Act that comes before the legislature this fall - changes that would result in drilling moved further way from occupied dwellings and a farmers' advocate that could aid them in dispute resolution.
But most aren't very confident the Saskatchewan Party government will agree to meaningful changes - especially with former energy minister Tim McMillan leaving government to head the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP).
"This looks terrible and it is terrible," Eaton said. "Tim McMillan was involved in the Surface Rights Act study. He's had direct access to the details of landowners' individual complaints with it. He has a lot of access to things CAPP could be using as a strategy."
However, current Energy Minister Bill Boyd said McMillan left before the draft legislation was written and vows that the Sask. Party government will ensure the new law is fair and balanced.
"I think we should wait and see what we accomplish (with the legislation)," Boyd said. "I see it as an ongoing concern and an issue that has to be dealt with."
Certainly, those will pump jacks on their land are anxiously waiting to see what happens.
Murray Mandryk has been covering provincial politics for over 22 years.
