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Spenser Olson says his family has worked the land on their Saskatchewan farm for around 120 years.
Now with his father eyeing retirement, Olson says the pressure of being the next in line to run the operation can be daunting.
“It takes a toll. You think about that every day, every night. Can you make that transition work? Can you carry on and not be the one who fails and end up going out of business?”
The weight of family legacy is just one factor weighing heavily on farmers as some in the agriculture industry are calling for more conversations and action around mental health.
Olson was one of the attendees who heard Brett Gardiner speak about mental health in agriculture at the Young Farmer Summit during this week’s Lethbridge Agriculture Expo.
Gardiner is a rodeo announcer who also has a background in counselling.
He says the mindset of grit, determination and hard work that’s valued in agriculture can also stop people from getting help when they need it.
“Sometimes we confuse that with not talking about our feelings or acknowledging when things are hard.”
Advocates say growing costs of purchasing and maintaining machinery are some of the financial burdens causing stress and uncertainty among farmers. (Dave Gilson/CBC)Uncertainty, finances big stressors
Gardiner says the nature of the job itself can make it difficult for farmers to take care of their mental health.
It’s physically demanding work over long hours, especially during high pressure seasons like harvest or calving. That can make it hard to do some of the basics needed for good mental health — like proper sleep and nutrition
“It’s okay for a day or two, but maybe 10, 12, 14 days in a row… it just continues to add up.”
Gardiner says the financial landscape also adds a lot of pressure.
Farmers can spend millions of dollars on their operations, but a lot of the factors that determine success — like weather, pests or international markets — are out of their control.
“A lot of times you’re just crossing your fingers and hope it all comes together in the fall,” said Gardiner.
He says the ability to deal with that uncertainty can be tough
Agriculture sensitive solutions needed
Merle Massie with Do More Agriculture Foundation, a charitable organization focused on creating a more positive culture of mental health in agriculture, says she’s happy to see mental health spoken about more often. But she says there’s still a lot of work to be done.
“What’s harder to see is action, right? So what are people actually doing on the ground? How is that translating into, into rural communities?”
Massie says even if farmers are willing to seek out help, it can be difficult to get access to the help they need.
“If you live rural you are more likely to be a long way from hospital, a long way from help, [and] a long way from professional health care.”
She says accessibility isn’t just about availability. Help being nearby is good, but mental health supports need to be tailored to the needs of agriculture and the people who work in it.
Massie says, for example, if a therapist tells a dairy farmer to take the weekend off as a solution, “they’ll walk out the door and they won’t come back.”