The Rural Voice, 2000-06, Page 51feet tall, smooth, round, hollow, and
topped by a yellow composite type
(ox -eyed daisy) flower. The flower
matures into a large, round seed -head
like Dandelion or Colt's -foot but
much larger.
Each seed has its own umbrella to
permit it to travel on the wind often
for great distances. It then
establishes itself with a long taproot
and grass like leaves. It is difficult to
find in existing grass stands and
usually is difficult to pull, especially
when flowering. When the plant is
injured it exudes a white juice. It
flowers in June and July. It is a
noxious weed under the Weed Act,
so it must be destroyed.°
Dealing with the
stresses of farming
Stress has been a part of farming
since the beginning of time. It is part
of life.
Stress is, racing to town to buy
spare parts, listening to the radio and
hearing the market drop again,
rushing to get the hay baled before a
storm, watching a hail storm wipe
out a year's labour, or working late in
to the night to get the crops in.
Stress is the way we react to
changes or events, an internal
reaction to a situation. It begins with
a thought, followed by. a feeling, then
behaviour. For instance, the thought
of up and down quota patterns can
produce feelings of stress and
anxiety, and those feelings can make
us short-tempered with our family
and friends.
Financial worries, lifestyle
changes from physical to
technological farming, dual roles of
farming and off farm work, and
fatigue from long hours of work are
some of the stresses facing the
farming community. At times
farmers push themselves to the point
of illness. Eighty per cent of doctors'
visits are stress related. Sometimes
hopelessness, helplessness and
despair can bring on mental illnesses
such as depression and anxiety.
What can we do to manage our
stress? We can strengthen ourselves
physically, mentally and emotionally.
Advice
Physically we can strengthen our
bodies by getting exercise. You
could try playing on the old timers
hockey league, walking, not driving
to the mailbox, playing two pitch
baseball, or trying out a different
sport such as golf.
Mentally, we can look at changing
our attitude or frame of mind. You
may have little control over your
environment, but you always have
control over what you think, what
you say and how you behave. It is
your choice. When you are feeling
overwhelmed, you can say to
yourself "I am a farmer because I
love the independence and lifestyle.
I can set come goals to cope with the
fluctuations of the market."
With attitude control you are your
own best stress manager. Expressing
your emotions positively with family
and friends seems to lighten the load.
Getting another point of view often
makes the problem easier to cope
with. Attend the monthly dance, and
enjoy the coffee shop on Saturday
morning; it allows you the
opportunity to socialize and share
information. But do try to keep those
negatives out of it, and focus on
something positive that has happened
to you.
You may not have control over
technological and lifestyle changes,
but you do have control over how
you respond to those changes. Good
stress management is developing a
plan to cope with the changes. Walk
it out, talk it out, or laugh it out.
Don't keep it bottled inside of you,
for it will explode one day when you
least expect it, or it may fester and
turn into a depression.
Learn to take care of yourself
physically, mentally and emotionally
and you will cope better with farm
stress.°
Guelph hosts Farm
Animal Welfare
Challenge 2000
By Penny Lawlis, OMAFRA
The last century was witness to
huge changes in the way our food is
raised. Much of this change has
come within the last 100 years, as
farmers increasingly apply
technological methods to animal
agriculture.
During the last 30 to 40 years,
world economic forces have changed
the structure of farming so that many
livestock units are now large in size
and intensive in nature. These new
systems and their impact on farm
animals have led to a growing
interest in animal behaviour by
producers, scientists and consumers.
To address the issue, CARC's
Expert Committee on Farm Animal
Welfare and Behaviour, will host a
national conference entitled "Farm
Animal Welfare: Challenge 2000" on
June 10, 2000 in Guelph.
The conference will provide those
in farm animal production, with an
opportunity to share ideas and
identify new issues. The program
has been designed to provide
perspectives from all sectors df the
farm animal production system -
researchers, producers, processors
and consumers. During the
conference, speakers from across
Canada and the United States will
review animal welfare research and
its impact on animal welfare. For
more information on this conference,
you can contact Penny Lawlis or you
can visit the Canadian Agri -Food
Research Council's website at
www.carc-crac.ca.
Research shows
interesting facts
about hooves
By Robert Wright, OMAFRA
Recent research from the
University of Guelph indicates that,
during normal weight bearing and
locomotion, the equine hoof wall
deforms in a consistent pattern.
The reduced thickness of the wall
at the quarters, compared with the
dorsal wall, means that the quarters
are more flexible than the dorsal
wall. This will facilitate the flaring of
the lateral and medial walls, which
occurs during weight bearing. In
addition, contrary to popular belief
that white hooves are mechanically
inferior, horn pigmentation had no
detectable effect on stiffness.°
JUNE 2000 47