Reading Time: < 1 minute Researchers from the University of Alberta and AgKnow, the province’s farmer mental health network, are looking to build up Alberta-specific data on farming stress, mental health and well-being, and the ways in which farmers cope. They study team is “looking for farmers, ranchers, or anyone who works or lives on a farm” to participate, researchers […] Read more
Survey to look at farm stress from Alberta angle
Study to explore farmers' levels of resilience against stress
The business of mental health
Sick of the stress? These business practices are showing they’re good for the farm, and for you
Reading Time: 8 minutes 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 […] Read more
In the Men’s Sheds
Men’s Sheds are helping rewrite the old idea that farmers have nothing to look forward to in retirement
Reading Time: 9 minutes John Wiebe raised cattle for 45 years, growing grain with his two brothers at Amaranth, near Lake Manitoba. That part of his life was much like that of any other farmer. But for more than 30 years of it, Wiebe also got in the habit of spending any spare days at Minnedosa, a town of […] Read more
Farm succession — minus the success
In today’s agriculture, there are plenty of positive stories about succession. So why highlight one of the nightmares? Because they do exist, and because they make us confront our assumptions about mental health
Reading Time: 11 minutes Could your farm find its way out of this kind of mess? It’s a very real question for some Canadian farms — maybe even one on your road — and because of that, and also because of the sensitivities involved, Country Guide has agreed to use false names for the very real members of the […] Read more
Get more resilient
By transforming adversity into resiliency, these strategies build a better you
Reading Time: 5 minutes During the pandemic, trauma counsellor Catherine Clark became intrigued by the idea of creating a Mental Health Resiliency Roadmap to help address the deep emotional pain, anxiety and burnout that families, businesses and communities were experiencing. Based on key findings in neural, cognitive and behavioural science, Clark wanted the resiliency roadmap to help individuals meet […] Read more
Free mental health training, workshops offered for farmers
Do More Ag Foundation expands programming available
Reading Time: 2 minutes Farmers seeking mental health support will have access to free training and community workshops for the fourth year in a row via the Do More Agriculture Foundation (DMAF) and Farm Credit Canada (FCC). Factors such as financial insecurity, uncontrollable weather and isolating working conditions contribute to high depression, anxiety and suicide rates among farmers, according […] Read more
Your role in supporting mental health
Farmers’ mental health is still a challenge, but there’s one thing we do know: With the right support, you can make a difference
Reading Time: 5 minutes University of Guelph professor Andria Jones-Bitton has been involved in farmer mental health since 2015 when she spearheaded a survey that documented the extreme levels of stress, anxiety, depression and burnout experienced by Canada’s farmers. Distressingly, though, Jones-Bitton says preliminary results from a subsequent survey her team conducted in 2021 indicate stress levels are as […] Read more
Dial down the stress response
Three essential steps to feeling better, both physically and mentally
Reading Time: 5 minutes It’s been well documented in recent years that farmers are experiencing high levels of stress. And although farmers are typically very resilient, when the demands placed on them exceed their strengths, talents and resources, it can go far beyond healthy levels. Such stress responses can activate a myriad of unhealthy symptoms and behaviours, explains Kathy […] Read more
Farm advisors a growing trend
Farm advisors are already delivering big value to most farms. In fact, it’s growing year upon year
Reading Time: 4 minutes The number of farm advisors is growing all the time, which is probably a good thing given that over 150,000 Canadian farms still need to plan and execute a succession of some kind, whether it’s a transition to the next generation or outside the family. And the need for advice won’t stop there. Already, more […] Read more
A marathon of running, and farming
To run a 26-mile marathon, Louis Baillargeon learned you have to start by taking charge of yourself, just as in farming
Reading Time: 6 minutes It’s so like farming. When you’re at the starting line of a major marathon, everyone around you is there to run too. They’re all focused on the same thing that you’re focused on, just like when you’re a farmer, most of the people you know are also farmers, dealing with exactly what you’re also dealing […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
