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"Things have gotten real bad around
here. My husband and I fight all the
time, he can't sleep, he complains
about headaches and stomach aches.
We're behind in our payments and
we have a meeting that involves our
creditors in two weeks. I don't know
how we are going to make it. Talk
about stress, we are up to our
eyeballs in it," admits one
Saskatchewan farmer in the Institute
for Agricultural Rural and
Environmental Health's A Rural
Stress Toolbook.
As farm expenses rise and
commodity prices drop, quotes
similar to this one are often heard in
the homes and towns of rural citizens
in Ontario and across Canada. It's
clear that many farmers and their
families understand the significant,
impact of stress in their communities.
The problem is that farmers often
pride themselves as being
independent and resilient, making it
difficult for them to reach out for
help.
Add to this the fact that many
rural citizens are not aware of the
resources available to them, and rural
stress becomes a greater issue for the
agricultural community.
The term "rural stress" highlights
26 THE RURAL VOICE
the fact that stress experienced by
rural communities differs from stress
experienced by the general public.
The unique nature of agriculture
means that farmers have to play
many different roles.
"Farming requires the skills of a
businessperson, manager,
agronomist,, meteorologist, mechanic,
labourer, and veterinarian," write
authors James and Lilly Walker in
their book The Human Harvest:
Changing Farm Stress to Family
Success. Each of these roles can be a
stressful job on its own, so trying to
do them all combined is even more
stressful. In the words of one
Canadian farmer quoted in The
Human Harvest, "If you're looking
for an easy job, farming isn't the
answer."
To further investigate the issue
of rural stress, the Canadian
Agricultural Safety
Association (CASA) conducted a
survey researching the stress and
mental health of 1,100 agricultural
producers across Canada in January
2005. Titled National Stress and
Mental Survey of Canadian Farmers,
it reports that almost two-thirds of
Canadian farmers are feeling stressed
on their farms, with one in five
farmers indicating that he or she feels
very stressed.
The survey results show that
financial concerns related to
commodity prices, the BSE crisis,
and general farm finances are the
greatest causes of stress. Other
factors include input costs,
government policies, uncertain
market conditions, and weather-
related factors. With all these factors
contributing to stress, it is almost
impossible for farmers to escape the
constant worry inherent in farming.
Anyone doubting the importance
of discussing rural stress should take
a look at the story of Quebec farmers
Keith and Madeline Houde. The
Houde's story was aired on the
television show AgVision in March
2006. As a result of compounding
stress on the farm, 45 -year-old cattle
farmer Keith Houde decided to take
his own life. His wife Madeline told
the program, she believes that the
main reason her husband committed
suicide was the BSE crisis.
Madeline insists that money was
the biggest cause of worry for her
husband Keith. "When he died he
owed $14,000 and for any farmer,
that's a joke," Houde says. Carrying
this debt along with the crisis in the