Sure, farmers are tough. They have to be. How could they not know it? They’re told about it from the time they’re kids, raised with the knowledge they will face high levels of stress from unpredictable weather, soaring input costs, supply chain interruptions and so much more, all of it on top of a non-stop workload.
A “tough it out” attitude is the only hope, they’re also told. Besides, that kind of attitude is good for the farm. And if it’s great for the farm, it’s just got to be great for the farmer, doesn’t it?
But now we know it isn’t. Instead, the right attitude for both the farm and the farmer is centred on smart business practices. It really is.
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A 2021 survey of farmer mental health by the University of Guelph painted a grim picture. The research team found that 76 per cent of farmers said they were currently experiencing moderate or high perceived stress, with one in four farmers in the survey reporting they “felt their life was not worth living, wished they were dead or had thought of taking their own life during the past 12 months.”
Being proactive and putting plans in place that promote mental health can make coping with that stress more manageable. That includes business planning.
According to the 2020 Healthy Minds, Healthy Farms report from Farm Management Canada, an incredible 90 per cent of farmers who follow a written farm business plan say it contributes to peace of mind, more effective coping mechanisms, and adopting other beneficial business management practices.
Other business practices help too. Risk management, for example, and putting together a team of capable advisors are also proven stress-busters, according to the survey.
With spring underway, Country Guide reached out to agricultural mental health advocates for more tips and suggestions for ways to boost mental health.
Turn the page for their real-farm experiences and to learn about the farm-proven ways they’re adjusting their daily and seasonal routines to be alert to their health. Their assessment? Farmers can make a difference.
Plan ahead and know your finances
Roberta Galbraith grows grains and oilseeds with her husband and two sons northwest of Minnedosa, Man., from where she has helped found the grassroots Manitoba Farmer Wellness Program focusing on bridging the gap between crisis intervention and the counselling available through community services.
Galbraith points to the value of planning and having a good grasp of the farm’s financial picture for helping manage stress levels.
She understands that, first and foremost, she and her neighbours are farmers because of their passion to grow things or raise animals. That’s what drives them, not working on the farm’s financial records. In fact, for some, the mere thought of working on the books can be stressful. But the reality is that, if you’re a farmer, understanding your budget and your ROI (Return on Investment) will help your mental health.
Lauren Van Ewyk, a registered social worker and co-founder of the National Farmer Mental Health Alliance — a group that offers support, counselling and workshops for farmers — agrees, and adds that planning ahead for contingencies can help reduce stress.
It’s important to know what stress does, Van Ewyk says. When farmers experience a lot of chronic stress — as many do — “this makes our bodies susceptible to feeling like there is always a disaster around the corner.”
Don’t forget to look for practical ways to reduce stress by planning ahead. As just two examples, Van Ewyk recommends getting on top of your labour needs. Know your budget and what you can afford, and then line up seasonal help early. Or, if you’re trying a new piece of equipment or management practice, make sure you plan for adequate time to learn about it beforehand.
Create a supportive farm culture
Lesley Kelly, who farms at Watrous, Sask., with her family, says they sought professional input to help them learn to communicate with each other about their mental health challenges and to recognize important signs in each other’s behaviour.
Kelly says her father set the tone by making mental health a priority. How they take care of one another, he said, is more important than how much land they farm or what equipment they use.
“Checking in on mental health is one of the first things we do now,” says Kelly. Daily during the busy season, and weekly during the slower seasons, they check in with each other, rating their stress levels and mental health on a scale of one to 10, either in-person or via the farm’s WhatsApp group.
This helps with self-recognition, she says, and she adds that putting a number out there seems to release the heaviness and start a good flow of conversation around how they can support one another. “It’s a team exercise that’s really helped us.”
Kelly, who co-founded the Do More Ag Foundation to champion mental health in agriculture, says they developed 13 principles which form the basis of a positive farm culture. The principles include: “we celebrate small and big successes,” “we have fun,” and “we value each other’s opinions.” They read the 13 principles at every meeting, creating “a team of support,” although she emphasizes that it’s about “progress, not perfection.”
Taking the two-day Mental Health First Aid Training was another game changer that helped the family to build a strong foundation for their farm. She also recommends Do More Ag’s Talk, Ask, Listen workshop, a free four-hour program that can be taken online or in-person. “It’s very accessible to both employees and family to help them learn new skills and how to have conversations in the home or shop,” Kelly says.
Kelly admits conversations were awkward and uncomfortable at first but now they’re fluid and part of what they do, as natural as checking the crops. It took trial and error to discover what works, and to find out that what works changes with the seasons, but even small changes can have life-saving impacts.
Galbraith says they are also aiming to create a farm business culture where mental health is supported by trying to be more aware of each other’s stressors, mental health and stress levels, and to ask how they can help when one of their team members has a lot on their plate.
She and her husband are taking a step back as their sons take over the main management of the farm. While noting that it’s hard to have those tough conversations, “through courageous conversations come clarity and compassion, which in turn, relieve stress and anxiety.”
Like the others, Halkirk, Alta. grain and beef farmer Doreen Blumhagen and her husband make mental health a part of their farm plan. “It’s as important as our machinery maintenance or herd health. It’s right up there,” she says.
The couple have been adding coping tools to their mental health toolbox for the past 30-plus years and they have helped her and her husband weather the unexpected trials and tribulations of farming.
Blumhagen learned to meditate by attending Tamina Miller’s meditation classes in nearby Alliance. While her husband was initially skeptical, she says he had an open mind and once he saw how meditating regularly was helping her, he started to attend the classes as well. “It really helps with the busy time,” she says.
Having a gratitude practice has been another helpful tool for “focusing on what you have and not what you’ve lost,” she says.
Blumhagen speaks about her experiences with mental health and can be reached through her “Country Road Chats” Facebook page or website (countryroadchats.com).
Now the Blumhagens are entering a new stage. With no successor, they will be selling outside the family and they know this will have its own difficult emotions as they move away from their community and their life’s work. But knowing what they do about mental health, they feel better prepared for this and other challenges. Says Blumhagen, “There’s grief when you lose anything important.”
Get out your scheduler
Planning is a form of self-care too. Learn to look at it that way, Van Ewyk suggests. So, for instance, schedule a mental health break each week and use it to do some kind of activity for yourself or with your family. Participating in community events will give an additional boost, she adds.
Mental and physical health are connected, and Van Ewyk says that in her busy lambing season, she tries to practice good sleep hygiene to get as much rest as she can. She also makes sure she eats healthy and looks after herself in other ways that help her thrive when she is working on less sleep than normal.
During the winter, she encourages farmers to give themselves permission to have a more restful season. “In our society, we feel guilty to rest, but rest is really important,” she says. So, shift your thinking. Recognize the winter and other down times as periods when you should tell yourself that you aren’t using them well if you don’t also ensure they have a restorative focus, and if you don’t use them to enhance your health.
These down times bring opportunities to do something different that you don’t have time for during peak seasons. Embrace this, Van Ewyk says. “Pick up a hobby, connect with others … but keep in mind that social media can lead to unhealthy comparisons or drain you of feeling like you were able to get things accomplished.” And make time for heart-pumping exercise, which is helpful in maintaining physical and mental health.
Galbraith also recognizes the importance of making time for physical exercise. With so much time spent in a tractor seat, many farmers are doing a lot less physical labour than they did years ago, she says. “We’ve gotten away from moving our bodies, but we know moving our bodies is important for mental health.”
Should you worry?
Everybody feels the pressure sometime. So how do you know if what you’re feeling, or if the way your spouse or someone you know is acting, might need attention?
It isn’t always easy, so Cynthia Beck, who farms with her husband near Regina, adds a list of signs to watch for in her presentations. “Often the signs are visible to a third party before ourselves,” Beck says. Be alert for:
- Are there changes to a person’s routine, including their sleep, hygiene and substance use?
- Do they seem really low or high energy?
- Are their emotions “off”?
- Do they have trouble concentrating?
- Are they isolating themselves? Have they stopped communicating?
- Are they engaging in risky behaviour?
- Is the farm deteriorating? Are animals in poor health?
- Are they making uncharacteristic judgements?
The pain of transition planning
Transition planning is stress-inducing on the farm, agrees Lydia Carpenter, a first-generation farmer and farm coach in Belmont, Man., who has been trained in conflict resolution and mediation and is one of farm family coach Elaine Froese’s team members.
The process can seem uncertain, there can be conflict, and everyone involved is likely at some point to fear that they aren’t able to control where the process is going … all of which are grist for the stress mill.
While it was difficult for Carpenter and her husband to begin farming as first-generation farmers, she has also witnessed the difficulties families face as they navigate farm succession from one generation to the next.
Even so, Carpenter says there are pro-active steps that farmers can take to help.
Focus on building a culture where people can have tough conversations, Carpenter recommends. Also put together a team of external resources such as accountants, lawyers and coaches that you can lean on.
“Identify where your supports are even before you need them,” Carpenter says. “Then reach out if you feel stuck.”
Froese agrees. “Being aware of who your mental health workers are and how you can access mental health support for families is important,” she says. If the farm succession process is stalled, it’s possible a family member is dealing with low-grade depression. Seek out a support system for them that can help them get healthy, she says.
And if one of the people involved in the succession has been diagnosed with an ongoing mental health issue such as bipolar disorder, Froese emphasizes the importance of ensuring a working support plan is in place before trying to go forward.
As a long-time farm family coach, Froese sees positive change in farm country. “More and more farmers and farm spouses (are) willing to seek therapy. That’s really important.”
Resources
New agriculture-specific resources are being set up all the time. Below are just some of the resources and initiatives available.
- The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) has created a new farm safety and mental wellness hub to bring together information and resources in one place.
- The Canadian Centre for Agricultural Wellbeing conducts cutting-edge research to develop evidence-based community-informed programming and education to address well-being-related challenges amongst Canadian farmers.
- Manitoba Farmer Wellness Program offers farm-focused professionals to provide confidential, no-cost counselling and support to Manitoba farm families.
- National Farmer Mental Health Alliance offers webinars and workshops to teach practical ways to build resilience and reduce mental health fatigue.
- 211 is a resource that’s available by phone, text or website in all provinces and territories and is funded through the federal government and United Way.
- Alcohol Change Course, offered by the Online Therapy Unit is available to all Canadian residents.
- A quick scan of the QR code on Mental Health Support Stickers provides the crisis line and ag resources specific to your location. Available in English, French, Punjabi and Spanish, they can be put anywhere such as a toolbox or in a tractor cab. Available from Do More Ag.
