Local farmers heard about the importance of good mental health and the value of stress relief during an Ag Knowledge Exchange event hosted by Farm Credit Canada on Friday at the Days Inn.
A few dozen people gathered to hear farm family coach Elaine Froese offer her thoughts on embracing change on the farm, and looking at the different roles farm families play.
“I help farm families do communication and conflict resolution through their transition process,” said Froese.
Her family runs a certified seed farm near Boissevain, Man., with about 5,000 acres.
She believes farmers are becoming more aware of her message, thanks to the work of Do More Ag Foundation in mental health.
“I think the message is well-received,” said Froese. “There are some challenges. For instance, on our farm, we don’t work on Sundays. When I did the FCC workshop in Humboldt, I had some challenges around that, because people didn’t think that it was possible.”
Froese believes it’s always good for people to challenge the status quo of their lives, and think about ways to incorporate family time and self-care.
She also pointed out the harvest this past fall was stressful for a lot of producers, and she says a lot of farmers have experienced an adrenaline crash because they pushed so hard for so long to complete harvest.
“They need some recovery time. They need some renewal time,” she said.
At her family’s farm, they had all of their crop off except for the corn before the weather turned for the worst early in the fall. Their harvest officially ended Nov. 9, which is the latest they have ever been harvesting.
Froese is also concerned about divorce rates among farmers, particularly older farming couples, because they find they can’t maintain their pace any longer.
During her speech, Froese always mentions her postpartum depression battles, because she wants to remove any stigma among farmers of getting help with their mental illness. She praised FCC for their efforts to help keep farm families strong by hosting sessions like this.
“Farmers are not their tractors. They’re not machines. So I also want them to take care of their physical well-being, their emotional and their spiritual well-being.”
At the end of the session, she gave those in attendance “I will” cards, which they photograph with their mobile devices and text to her. During the seminar, they also text their deepest and even darkest questions to keep them private and safe.
“One of the questions I ask them is if they have a will. Is it valid and signed and updated? We use peer polling techniques during the workshop, too, and quite often people say they feel good because they don’t feel alone.”
Froese is the author of four books. Prior to coming to Estevan, Froese was awarded the 2018 Wilson Loree Award of Excellence for Farm Management at the national Farm Management Canada conference in Winnipeg.
