stress Archives - Page 2 of 5

Your combine monitors constantly give feedback, but farm owners or managers often don’t share with family member employees how they’re meeting expectations.

How to reduce stress at harvest

Communication, like combines, can get plugged up during this busy time. Here are some tips that can help

By Elaine Froese September 1, 2023

Many of you who read this may view plugged combines as a welcome problem after several years of reduced crops due to drought. I don’t operate a combine any longer, yet I like the word picture or vision of trying to shove in too much crop too fast as a “thunk” (my technical term for […] Read more

File photo of northern Alberta farmland. (Wonganan/iStock/Getty Images)

General

Survey to look at farm stress from Alberta angle

Study to explore farmers' levels of resilience against stress

By Glacier FarmMedia staff, GFM Network News June 6, 2023

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

Tension can stem from physical
exertion, mental and emotional
stress or even uncontrollable shifts
in the weather. While tension is
largely unavoidable, there are a
few things we can use to help
ease tension in our bodies.

Farm Life

Tips to relieve tension

How breathing exercises and slow movements can help

By Kathlyn Hossack June 2, 2023

One of the most common complaints that brings people to see me is tension somewhere — sometimes everywhere — in the body. All tension, regardless of the area it is felt, is a reaction from our neurological state. Our nervous system receives signals from our body, which interprets our internal and external environments. One of […] Read more

One important topic addressed in Rooted in Resilience, a publication from Farm Credit Canada, is the intertwining of family matters and business on the farm.

News, Wheat & Chaff

Become ‘Rooted in Resilience’ on the farm

By Canadian Agricultural Safety Association April 12, 2023

When it comes to investing in your farm, one of the first things to come to mind is likely upgrading equipment or facilities. However, while farm equipment routinely gets the maintenance it needs to operate properly, mental health typically does not receive the same attention. But it’s important to remember that an investment in your […] Read more

“It’s no different than hauling out the equipment prior to seeding or harvest — making sure that everything (within) your ability looks good and that there’s not a belt about to break or oils that haven’t been changed.” – Megz Reynolds.

Features, News

Clear, actionable steps to support mental health

Start today to build your mental health resiliency

By Madeleine Baerg February 23, 2023

Mental health is starting to get the attention it needs in agriculture, but the statistics continue to be worrying. According to a 2018 study by the University of Guelph, 35 per cent of farmers meet the classification for depression, 58 per cent meet the classification for anxiety and 68 per cent are more susceptible to […] Read more

Farmers face a number of uncontrollable factors that can lead to high rates of depression, anxiety, even suicide. (Eclipse_images/E+/Getty Images)

General

Free mental health training, workshops offered for farmers

Do More Ag Foundation expands programming available

By GFM Network News November 24, 2022

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

Features, Practical Tips

How to build your resilience

When it comes to your mental health, resilience is an important skill to develop. Here’s why and how

By Jim Timlick November 22, 2022

Farming can exact a heavy emotional toll on even the hardiest of souls. Between dealing with volatile markets, extreme weather and long hours of work, often in isolated conditions, it’s no surprise Canadian farmers suffer higher rates of anxiety and depression than the general public. A University of Guelph study surveyed 1,132 Canadian farmers between […] Read more

News

Get your farm finances on track to reduce stress

Tips to help get you out of financial trouble and improve your mental health

By Art Lange September 6, 2022

Mental health among farm families is much written and talked about in the media these days — and rightly so. Over the last couple of years, western Canadian farmers have been hit by record-setting droughts and other hardships while they cope with the lingering effects of the pandemic. In Alberta, there was an excess of […] Read more

One trigger for upper body, neck and face tension can be as simple as seasonal changes.

Farm Life, FarmLife

Tension can cause discomfort in the shoulders and neck

Fit to Farm: Here are some self-treatments to try that may bring some relief

By Kathlyn Hossack January 13, 2022

You’ve probably heard someone say that they hold all their tension in their shoulders and neck, and that’s not uncommon. Environmental and emotional stress often shows up in our posture, and often in our upper shoulders, neck and even our face and jaw. For the vast majority of us in one way or another, the […] Read more

File photo of a pea crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Crops, Pulses, Weather

Pulse weekly outlook: Timely rains benefitting Saskatchewan crops

By GFM Network News June 15, 2021

MarketsFarm — As with crops across the Prairies, pulses in Saskatchewan got a much timely shot in the arm with recent rainfall, according to Carl Potts, executive director of Saskatchewan Pulse Growers. “I think pulse crops have benefitted from the rains we’ve had over the last two or three weeks here in the province,” he […] Read more

Alberta crop conditions improve: report

U.S. grains: Corn sets contract lows on expectations for big US crop

U.S. livestock: Cattle strength continues

GFM Network News