WESTERN PRODUCER — Farmers’ mental health is likely to take a hit during times of stress such as market uncertainty and trade barriers brought on by tariffs, disease outbreaks and other geopolitical issues.
It’s estimated that 225 million farmers worldwide struggle with their mental health, and it comes as no surprise with the uncertainty of the profession. In Canada, of 1,100 producers surveyed in 2016, 57 per cent met requirements of anxiety, 45 per cent of high stress and 35 per cent with depression.
These numbers increase in more difficult times, such as disease outbreaks and the COVID-19 pandemic.
A 2021 survey found that suicide ideation is two times higher in farmers than in the general population, and 76 per cent of farmers experience moderate to high stress.
There are many stressors in agriculture, and many are out of an individual’s control — everything from weather and commodity prices to government regulations and societal expectations. Then there’s the additional stressors that may be more unique and personal, depending on one’s life.
During these cases, it’s important to have a plan in place for when stress, anxiety and depression hit a high.
At last month’s Holistic Management Conference in Assiniboia, Cyle Stewart spoke of his struggles with mental health and ways he’s found to deal with it that he hopes other producers can use.
“Like most ag producers, I feel when you have a problem, you try and figure it out yourself before looking to outside help or hiring someone else to do it,” Stewart said.
As a former bull rider who now ranches near Morse, Sask., Stewart knows the stressors and struggles of agriculture through drought and starting a new ranch.
His mental health battles began when his friend and fellow bull rider, Ty Pozzoban, died by suicide in January 2017, and his daughter, Macy, died from a rare cancer in summer of 2018.
“I was having trouble falling asleep because of, obviously, the awful memories I had, and so my way to fix that was drink as much as I needed to to fall asleep,” he told the crowd.
He believed that he’d be able to get over his slump and self-medication on his own, not seeing a reason for seeking any help. When a close friend he had idolized for years told Stewart of his own battles with anxiety and depression, and that he’d been to counselling, Stewart still thought, “I’ve got this.”
He continued self-medicating until the realization eventually hit him that he was in trouble.
“I was in such a low and scary place in my mind that I broke down and gave myself permission to talk to a counselor,” he said.
“And what that did was, it let me air out some stuff I needed to. But also, my opinion on it was counselling can’t be just a one-prong solution.”
With that, he began researching lifestyle changes to help prioritize his mental and physical well-being. He focused on changes in diet, hydration and sleep habits. He decided to eat less process foods and more protein, drink more water with electrolytes and salt to ensure the body’s cells absorb the hydration, reduced his caffeine and began sleeping a full eight hours (when the ranching life allowed, he conceded). He was amazed at that changes he experienced.
He slept through the night and woke up rested without the need of an alarm instead of struggling to wake up at 7 a.m. with an alarm.
However, to put it in terms other producers would understand, he related these improvements to the cattle herd.
“All the feed we feed our cows, we feed test it for protein, energy and micro (and) macro minerals. We don’t expect our cows to perform the job we’re asking them if they’re not getting what they need. So, I thought, why should it be any different for me?”
With the counselor, he began to develop a better sense of self, a personal identity. It was something he’d lost when he’d been forced to quit bull riding, and he learned how to transfer this identify of “bull rider” into “rancher,” “husband” and “father.” Having this new-found identity, Stewart said he found it easier to set goals for himself and to plan ahead because he knew who he was and who he wanted to be.
He felt like he was on a good path, doing better and knowing what to do next.
However, in April 2022, his sister was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Instead of dealing with it, and all the emotions that bubbled up, he found distractions — calving, working the land and any other tasks he could find until things slowed down in July. Then they went to visit her, and a few weeks later, in August, she passed away.
Stewart found more distractions: silaging, marketing, weaning, preg-checking and shipping. He was busy until November, but with no distractions, the emotions bubbled again and he couldn’t suppress them anymore.
“That’s when everything came kind of crashing down again. One, because the time of year, the distractions aren’t there, the days are shorter,” he said.
“But this time, I knew what to do. Instead of drinking or self-medicating, I booked an appointment with a counselor again.”
He also decided to be more preventive and found techniques that would work for him. He started carrying a notebook and writing things down, creating a set morning and evening routine and planning out his day the night before. These strategies gave his mind more room to think about the more important things.
The brain only has so much decision-making capacity, Stewart said. Routines and plans reduce the need to make the small decisions, leaving more capacity for the important ones.
Other methods he’s enacted have been limiting screen time, being conscious of any increases in alcohol or drug use, making time for family and friends and doing what he enjoys. He said that one of the best things he’s done is find a hobby unrelated to work, and he encourages others to do that same.
For him, it’s leatherwork.
“It completely removes my mind from everything else that’s going on, and I can concentrate on that. So my mind gets a rest when I need it.”
The hobby is an extension of “diversifying” his identity by not building everything he is on one thing. This is important for those near retirement or planning a life change because if everything is based on a single thing, when it’s lost, so is a piece of oneself.
“If you don’t put all your focus on being a rancher or farmer or husband, and you have other outlets to look at … you can look back and be proud of that, which sometimes you need because you’re not finding anything else to be proud of.”
Stewart encouraged those in attendance to consider starting the conversation on mental health and stressors with themselves and their loved ones and to seek counselling services if they feel overwhelmed. Being in a good place mentally as well as physically makes a difference in daily life, he added.
About the author
Related Coverage
People share when given the opportunity
Conversation called key in succession planning
Mental health counselling offered to producers
Written business plan called key to farm success
Farmers juggle mental health in face of Trump tariff
