84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 13, 2003
No Time, No Money, Unpredictable Weather Spells Stress
LOU ANN GOOD
Food And Family
Features Editor
QUARRYVILLE (Lancaster
Co.) “The world thinks farm
ers lead an idyllic life. They don’t
see the hinges falling off the bam
doors, they don’t know that even
if the farmer could afford to buy
the hinges, he doesn’t have the
time to fix it.. .that it has rained
the past 40 days and the tractor
is stuck in the field, that he’s
been up all night helping a calv
ing cow, that so far this year only
bulls instead of heifers are being
born, that chickens are losing
their feathers and the com is
molding,” said Jane Boyd.
Boyd was one of four speakers
at the workshops on Farming,
Stress, and Economics conducted
last week at several different
Lancaster County locations.
Too much to do, unpredictable
weather, and sinking commodity
prices all add to stress. When
stress levels get too high, farmers
are prone to make poor decisions,
accidents happen, and family re
lationships suffer.
As an agricultural nurse spe
cialist with the University of
Rochester, Boyd visited New
York farm families to find out
how farm accidents happened
and how family members are af
fected.
“Accidents place huge stresses
on families. And, in most cases,
stress contributes to accidents,”
Boyd said.
“Farming is a physically de
manding occupation with a high
potential for accidents. This is
partly due to complex machinery
and unpredictable livestock. An
other reason is the fatigue caused
by long hours, demanding work,
and time pressures,” Boyd said.
Some stress is necessary. “It
makes us to get up and work to
provide for the family,” Boyd
said.
People handle pressures differ
ently. Some people aren’t happy
unless they have a hundred
things to do, and others' can’t
handle more than three things on
their list.
People also experience stress in
different ways. Some people have
physical symptoms such as head
aches, stomach aches, a racing
heart, or sleeplessness.
Some have emotional
responses such as bit-
terness, lonliness, and
poor relationship man
agement. Some people
experience mental
Farming, Stress, and Economics Workshop speakers, from left, Jane Boyd, ag nurse
specialist; Janneke van Buscern and Dan Hess, Life Management Associates; and Ger
ald Phillips, Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit.
symptoms of feelings of worth
lessness, depression, irritability,
anxiety, and mood swings.
Relationships suffer during
pressure-packed times. Farm
spouses attending the Quarryville
workshop reported that under se
vere stress, one spouse will stop
talking and the other will ex
plode.
Recognizing this, spouses
should try to modify their behav
iors. The person who withdraws
should force himself to verbalize
his feelings. The person who ex
plodes should recognize the nega
tive impact this can have on a
spouse and verbalize frustrations
before they build up to an un
manageable level.
Sometimes parents try to hide
concerns from their children.
Even if parents try to hide their
stress, children often sense that
something is wrong. They may
perform poorly in school.
Take time to talk to your fami
ly. Let them know if you are feel
ing pressured or stressed. Find a
friend who can listen to your
problems.
To counteract stress, Boyd
stressed the importance of sup
port systems with spouses, neigh
bors, family, and friends, espe
cially with those who understand.
It’s important to receive ade
quate sleep and to eat properly.
Farmers who skip meals or eat
unbalanced meals because they
are too busy to take the time in
crease their stress. Proper nutri
tion is needed to build and main
tain body tissue, produce energy,
and keep the mind alert.
Although farmers have heavy
labor, they still need to take time
for regular exercise to get their
heart rates pumping and relieve
stress.
Financial stress often means
borrowing more money. The
workshop presented information
on proper and improper methods
when working with creditors.
Talking With Creditors
Gerald Phillips, Mid-At
lantic Farm Credit, em
phasized the importance of
honesty when working
with a lending institution.
If a client “fudges” figures
to make his numbers look
good, a lending institution is
skeptical that the client isn’t
being honest with them in other
areas.
“No one ever forgets every
thing they own, but many forget
to list liabilities such as credit
card debts and equipment
leases,” he said.
The negatives of the past year
with too little and then too much
rain, lengthy periods of low milk
prices, and high costs have
worked against farmers, Phillips
said.
In addition, “Farming is the
only business where you buy re
tail and sell wholesale,” said
Phillips.
“Not every farmer is going to
survive in the business,” he said.
“You need to do what you need
to do to get premium milk prices.
But after having done the best we
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can, there is no shame in making
changes,” Phillips said.
“It’s a lender’s job to put a fin
ancial package together based on
your plan. It is not the lender’s
job to put together your plan,”
Phillips said.
It’s important for spouses to be
together during financial deci
sions. “Plan ahead. Don’t ask for
deals at the last minute,” he said.
Phillips believes the best stress
relievers is to become involved in
an activity where your mind is
forced to focus on something
other than farming, such as
sports or teaching a Sunday
school class.
“Take a vacation, even if you
think you can’t afford it,”
Phillips said. “That doesn’t mean
you go on a cruise. Vacation may
mean no more than taking every
other Sunday evening off. Don’t
stay around the farm. Do some
thing else,” he said.
The workshop broke into two
groups, one for men taught by
Dan Hess, and the other for
women taught by Janneke van
Buscern. Both Hess and Buscern
are from Life Management Asso
ciates.
Buscern said that it’s impor
tant to discern between stresses
that can be controlled and those
that can’t.
“Don’t waste your time focus
ing on things in which you can do
nothing, such as weather,” she
said.
She emphasized the impor
tance of developing a positive
mental attitude and a sense of
humor, regular exercise, commu
nicating with family members,
especially a spouse, proper diet,
self acceptance, spiritual attune
ment, and a supportive environ
ment.
For more information on stress
management, contact your local
county Penn State extension of
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