Handling Agriculture Stress

Haylie Shipp

I hate to break it to you, but you already know if you’re involved in production agriculture….this is a stressful industry! Adrienne DeSutter is an agriculture mental health specialist and, as she talks about managing that stress, she says one of the big things that producers can do is, number 1, don’t set yourself up for failure. Understand that your day likely is not going to go perfectly…

“Whether that’s, you know, weather. Whether that’s just the daily equipment malfunctions and breaks you have to take throughout the day, those things are going to come up. Maybe it’s just a frustrating coworker, right, who also usually happens to be a family member. There’s always going to be things that are happening throughout your seasons that are going to cause you those icky feelings.”

She says you’re not always going to have good days but important to recognize that, especially if you’re in a string of not so great times, you’re not always going to have bad days either.

“They tell us do our basics, right? Get our sleep, make sure you’re eating, make sure you’re exercising and moving. And in agriculture, that’s just not always feasible. It’s not always easy to get those things into our schedule.”

Recognize what helps you. It might be calling a friend to vent. It might be taking a brief walk, but understand those things that can help to break the cycle for you. And, at the end of the day, if you do need someone to talk to, don’t worry about reaching out. A quick Google search of “Farm State of Mind” can help connect you to some of those resources.