It’s finally time for what you’ve been working towards all year: harvest. If reading that made you excited, nervous, stressed, or all of the above, no need to worry — that’s normal.
With harvest underway, each day can feel like a rollercoaster of emotions. Each day is drastically different from the last, each hour a change from the previous one. You’re battling weather, disease, and equipment breakdowns amid getting your crops off, and almost all of it is out of your control. So, how do you deal with these unavoidable stressors?
Lesley Kelly is a farmer in Saskatchewan and a mental health advocate. For her family, harvest is an exciting time. As they work to get their crops off the field and into the bin, she feels nothing but happiness — until the yield meter shows her less than they were expecting.
“That can lead to a lot of frustration or anger,” she said. “It’s normal to have these emotions because every minute on the farm is different. You’ve worked to this all year and now it’s not as you planned for.”
Tangible Things to Do When Coping with Harvest Stress #
So, when things go in a different direction on the farm, Kelly and her farm team look at the priority list they’ve made. A priority list is what works for them — it’s a way for them to organize the chaos that is harvest, she said. On it are all the tasks that need to be done in order of importance and next to each is the person’s name assigned to the task.
Before harvest began, the Kellys also sat down their accountant to know where they were going into harvest and to get everything in order for crop insurance. Now, with their yields down, Kelly said she and her husband have a little more peace of mind knowing how those lower yields will affect them.
Other Things to Do When Coping with Harvest Stress #
Kelly’s farm team has worked hard on their communication above all else. They’ve changed how they talk to and around each other to be more gentle, curious, and accepting.
“Even though it’s a harder harvest, you still want it to be a great place to work and live,” she said.
So, they do check-ins every day, talking about their stress levels and finding ways to help each other if possible. Kelly said helping each other out is as easy as giving someone a 15-minute break or listening to them. Something they’ve started doing on the farm too is shutting down everything before it’s too late into the night so everyone can get the rest they need.
“Sleep is a necessity,” said Kelly. “We don’t go into the wee hours anymore. Everyone’s usually home by 11 or so. Obviously, if rain or snow is coming, we’ll push and make the farm a priority, but otherwise we’re prioritizing our mental health.”
Prioritizing Mental Health #
With little sleep, the human body is naturally slower to react, which can create more mistakes and more problems, both physically and mentally. Kelly said while sleep is important, so is taking breaks throughout the day to keep yourself and your mind active.
Because a lot of harvest is done individually, — though on the field together, people are usually in the tractor alone — keeping your mind busy is important. Whether it be listening to an audio book, the radio, or checking in with your people on the phone, doing something during the long days is important.
“When I’m sitting in the tractor or combine and the days are long and I start feeling anxious…doing breathing exercises in the cab can be great,” said Kelly. “Just three deep breaths can do wonders.”
Kelly looks at mental health as a three-legged stool: it’s good for the overall success of the farm. If the workers are happy, healthy, and thriving, so is the farm.
More Support #
Do More Ag recently launched their program, Ag Talk. The peer-to-peer support platform allows farmers to sign up anonymously and for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, farmers can talk to other farmers, receiving and giving support.
The platform can be used on a cell phone, computer, or tablet, so people can use it anywhere. Kelly said there’s been a great response to the new program and she’s hoping more farmers will take advantage of it. Ag Talk is for any and all farmers across Canada. To learn more about Ag Talk, go to www.domore.ag/agtalk.
