The Rural Voice, 1979-02, Page 4STRESS
The 1970's problem that's showing up on the farm
BY ALICE GIBB
Stress, that phenomenon that causes sleepless nights or
surfaces as anything from aching muscles to splitting headaches,
used to be considered the preseNe of city folk.
People in the city faced pressure in everything from morning
traffic jams to rushed coffee breaks to just plain keeping up with
the Joneses.
While no one could argue that the rural population didn't work
long, hard hours, people liked to think of their rural neighbours
as a happy, contented lot who got lots of outdoor exercise, who
viewed their neighbours as friends rather than competitors, and
who went to bed tired, but relaxed, at night.
Now farm people themselves, as well as OMAF staff and farm
management researchers are coming to realize that stress could
become a major social problem in agriculture, just as it has in
other parts of society.
Today's heavily financed, highly mechanized agricultural
industry creates pressures -and the challenge facing the farm
population is to see that stress remains at a healthy level.
At the recent Southwestern Ontario Farmer's Week, held at
Ridgetown College of Agriculutural Technology, Dr. O.L.
Crocker was one of the key speakers. Her topic was stress in
today's farming and its effect on the farm family.
"Farming is becoming big business and anytime you get
involved in that scene you come under increasing stress," Dr.
Crocker said.
The weather, the markets
are changeable...
One of the major challenges facing farmers according to Dr.
Crocker, a University of Windsor business professor, is the
ambiguity that comes with the job.
First, the weather is changeable, the markets are erratic and
PG. 4 THE RURAL VOICE/FEBRUARY 1979
the expectations of the members of farm families are changing.
Farm wives may want to spend less time working on the farm,
the farm father no lon ger has the same influence in the family
and children often decide to follow careers other than farming.
Although Dr. Crocker couldn't suggest any simple answers to
the pressures facing today's farm families, she did offer some
positive suggestions to keep stress within manageable limits.
Stress isn't all bad
First, farmers can try to utilize their time more efficiently,
and perhaps do a bit more planning before they tackle jobs on the
fam.
Diet should be major concern, since the farm population, like
the Canadian population in general, tends to eat too well.
Physical exercise is also important -and not just the exercise
fam families normally get doing the necessary chores. There
isn't any reason farm families can't get involved in the same
recreational activities as their city neighbours -from jogging to
cross-country skiing to tennis and curling.
Finally, Dr. Crocker recommended farm people remember
that a change of environment, even if it's only temporary, can
help relieve stress. As the old adage goes, sometimes "a change
is as good as a rest."
Stress, of course, isn't all bad. If we didn't have some stress in
our lives, students wouldn't study for exams, crops wouldn't get
harvested in time and people would spend all their lives in the
same rut.
A Huron County minister, who works in a rural area said he
has discovered that the farm population in general doesn't stand
boredom easily.
Nature, which can be either the greatest friend or the greatest
foe for the farmer, presents both a challenge and an adventure
for the farmer. Life doesn't get dull when the weather can make
r break a farmer's income for the year, and this is the reason
nature is one of the major villians when it comes to creating