When people want some influence and agency to try something new, and are faced with “This is the way the grandparents always did it,” enthusiasm and creativity can be dampened.
Tag Archives Farm family stress
Consider new ideas on the farm with a learner mindset
Farm Family Coach: It’s still wise, though, to seek mentors’ wisdom rather than have to relive past mistakes
Mother in the middle
Farm Family Coach: This Mother’s Day, work to communicate with each other, not through Mom as an intermediary
When two family members are unable to have effective communication, they often turn to someone else to hear them out. Many times, alas, this is Mom.
Adapt to change with the power of grief
Farm Family Coach: Major changes — even the ones we know are for the better — will come with a surge of negative emotions
When a person goes through a major change in life, they experience a downward trend of negative emotions — often expressed as anger or sadness — before they can fully accept that change.
On-farm communication improves when we start with connection
Seeds of Encouragement: Where you stand with your offspring comes from their relationships to you
Elaine writes: In so many of the families we coach, we see communication breakdowns leading to escalation of conflicts. In some cases, using strategies that provide family members with the tools they need to have better communication can help — but in many cases a relationship between family members has broken down to the point […] Read more
Making marriage work on your farm
The dance between farm work and family time will never have a complete resolution
February is Heart Month and a good time to work on the state of your union: marriage, spousal relationships and couple care. John Gottman is a highly respected U.S. psychologist and author of The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work. Here I’ve added a farm perspective to his tips based on those seven principles. Sharing […] Read more
How to clean up your conflict filter
Seeds of Encouragement: Shift out of an avoidance mindset and face conflicts for what they are
When the dust of harvest rolls and clogs up the efficiency of your combine filters, you don’t keep going — you stop and clean or replace the filter. If you spread your fingers open across your face, you are creating body language for the conflict filter clogging up the communication for your farm team. It’s […] Read more
Farm kids not immune to farm stressors
CASA on Farm Safety: New study shows risks for youths on the farm go beyond just physical well-being
They say it takes a village to raise a child. And a new study is highlighting that notion when it comes to mental in farm youth, revealing that children aren’t immune to stressors on the family farm The study, from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, explores how economic stressors affect the mental health of farmers […] Read more
Finding a ‘bridge’ over transition waters
A will or partnership agreement is important, but is not a farm succession plan
Maggie Van Camp understands the challenges as well as the tremendous value of farm succession planning. She’s been on that road a couple of times in her life as a seventh-generation Ontario farmer, as well as a communicator and agricultural consultant. The first time was after the sudden death of her husband in a farming […] Read more
Being an emotionally strong farm parent
Strong-willed and independent people might consider a self-coaching approach
Tis the season of farm meetings, where the speakers will talk about business and “keeping the emotion” out of business using data to make concrete decisions. I don’t debate this approach for grain marketing, but I highly doubt stuffing emotions on the farm creates clarity of expectations or happy outcomes. Recently I met Carolyn Stern, […] Read more
Froese: Take a place at the decision-making table: tips for in-laws
Here’s how to be seen and heard on the family farm
I am curious who people might think of when they read the headline for this column. Was it your new daughter-in-law who asks piles of questions about why you do things the way you do on your farm? Did you imagine your son-in-law driving quickly over the gravel as he left the yard? Is it […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
