Ag Mental Health - Stressors and Strategies

In this episode, we share information about the Agricultural Mental Health & Wellness Program, supported in partnership by the MN Department of Agriculture, Minnesota State Agricultural Centers of Excellence and Region Five Development Commission. Keith Olander and Monica McConkey join us to share stressors and strategies for overall well-being. Staci Headley from R5DC also joins us. For more information about this program, visit regionfive.org/local-foods
 

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Angela Anderson:
In this episode, we talk about the agricultural mental health and wellness program. The purpose of this program is to offer support to people who work in agriculture, providing ways to cope with and manage stress. We hear from experts in the agricultural and mental health professions as they share some common stressors and strategies.
All right, good morning and welcome to the Deep Dive podcast. I have a few special guests with us today. I'm going to let them introduce themselves. Monica, if you'd like to start us off and then Keith and then Stacey, that'd be great.

Monica McConkey:
Sure, so my name is Monica McConkey and I am an agriculture mental health provider and I work primarily with farmers and ranchers here in the state of Minnesota through a program that is legislatively funded.

Angela Anderson:
Thank you, Monica.

Keith Olander:
Good morning everyone. My name is Keith Olander and I am the executive director for AgCentric, which is a center of excellence for Minnesota State College and universities. For today's conversation though, more specifically as farm business management and the program that we have that works with farmers one-on-one basis in an academic setting, but at the same time on the farm. And happy to be here today to talk about rural mental health.

Angela Anderson:
Thank you, Keith. Stacy?

Staci:
Alright, I'm Stacey Headley. Good morning. I am one of the regional development planners with Region 5 Development Commission and my role in this program is to help with the annual report that gets sent out and sit on the calls that we have on a monthly basis. Just to just to touch base, make sure everybody's getting what they need as far as when he supports that. additional supports that we can provide and just helping to spread the word that this is a really awesome program that's out there for the state of Minnesota.

Angela Anderson:
Awesome. Thank you very much. We're going to start off with just some questions and share kind of an overview about the challenges that farmers specifically are facing. So Stacey, do you want to start us off with that?

Staci:
Yeah, so this is probably, this is for both of you, but can you share some insights into the unique mental health challenges that farmers and individuals in the agricultural industry face and why is it important to address these issues?

Monica McConkey:
I can start off addressing that. So what I see when I work with farmers and ranchers and their families, so we're talking males, females, farm youth, we'll kind of put it under the umbrella of farmer, is that there is a lot of challenges in their lives that are uncontrollable. They have, you know, they're dependent on the weather, they're dependent on... commodity prices, their the world markets impact their financial security, there's just so many things that are in their mind and weighing on them day after day after day. And so when we have that much stress as an individual, it starts to take a toll and often leads to mental health challenges. And so a lot of what I see is anxiety and depression, adjustment issues, and that filters down into seeing things like relationships fall apart, inability to make decisions, difficulty with communication. So it's kind of all-encompassing. But I think the core of it. is just that daily ongoing stress that they experience in trying to keep their operation running. And as far as people who work in egg business, you know, when we think about it, virtually 100% of their clientele or the people they serve are chronically stressed individuals. And so when we are working with and trying to help individuals who are chronically stressed and who are struggling, that takes a toll. on the people who are working with them, whether they're agronomists or farm business management instructors or counselors like myself, because we care about them and we hear their stories and we hear their struggles and it really it has an impact. And so I think when we look at, you know, the agriculture industry as a whole, there are a lot of dynamics that really contribute to mental health being a issue that should be a priority for us.

Keith Olander:
A couple of comments I would offer as follow-up, just specifics, and I come at it from wearing two hats really as a farmer myself that operates some land and then also working with faculty who work with a lot of farmers directly. Two things that are really weighing on the minds right now, the dairy markets as we do this particular recording are underwater. So every day that you're operating a dairy, you are losing money. And the other side of that is... It's an uncontrollable. You don't have any control over the price you receive. It just, that's what you're going to get. You don't know how long this is. And so there's all this uncertainty. Furthermore, most of the state of Minnesota, as we sit here again today, is under drought, some severe, um, again, an uncontrollable. And as Monica alluded to, this just weighs on the mind steady. And so when you put these things together, it's how do I mentally sort out the things that I can control and I can't control? And how do I move forward every day? Um, as it relates to that. The other side too, as we think about farmers to get out of farming, as we talk about sometimes, particularly in dairies, let's say, when the ongoing economic toll just takes a turn so that we have to change, there's this value question of what would I do differently or how could I, in other words, this is a lifestyle that they've embraced often for decades. And to do something different is not like just changing a job. it's a very significant moment in life to think about what would I do if I did not do this. So that adds to that, as you think all the factors of stress, you know, and if this didn't work, right, if it's dairy or beef or whatever they're particularly into. So just some comments I would add on the backside that are very real right now in the agriculture sector. You know, and I contrast that too to just last year, profitable year, and in 12 months we've turned the corner both from a standpoint of the rain is short. and the price is short, particularly in dairy right now. So just a few comments I would add.

Angela Anderson:
Thank you, Keith and Monica. It sounds like it's a really hard thing because it is so uncontrollable and you can't forecast what's gonna happen, right? So I think that's wonderful that we have some resources for people to use to help kind of guide decisions and do those things. My next question I have for you is just how you see the connection between mental health and the overall wellbeing of farmers and their families. as well as the success of their business. 

Monica McConkey:
Yeah, there is definitely a direct link, obviously, between our mental health or our mental wellness and the overall wellness in our relationships, of our families, of our operations. And that just has a lot to do with how we are managing the things that life throws at us. And so do we have good protective factors, we like to call them in the behavioral health field, set up around us? to help us deal with those things, with those adversities, with weather challenges, with price challenges, with family issues and relationship challenges and health issues, all the things that come our way. And when I talk about protective factors that really help us be mentally well or to better help us weather those storms in life. I'm talking about things as simple as taking care of our physical bodies. So drinking lots of water, eating healthy foods, and we know when we're under stress that just does not always happen, right? We typically don't eat the healthiest, the water intake goes out the door, and we don't pay attention to that. We also know that when we're under stress, we don't sleep. And that is a huge hit for us. functioning in our relationships, in our jobs, in our work, and just feeling okay. So, protective factors, first one that I talked to farmers about in making that connection between their mental health or mental wellness and the wellness of their relationships and their operation is really taking care of yourself physically. Second would be who are you surrounding yourself with or are you isolating? So it's really important to get through difficult times that we have a good solid support system. And then third would be we've got to pay attention to how we're thinking. Are we thinking only about the things we can't control? Because that will really spiral us down to a difficult place that's hard to crawl out of. And so if we're only seeing the negatives, if we're only thinking about the things we can't control, that's difficult. So we have to really work on our thinking and focus on what can we do, what can we control, focus on things we're grateful for and blessed with. And that helps us feel better because our thoughts are directly linked to our feelings. And then I would say the fourth area. that I focus on that really connects that mental wellness piece with just everyday functioning and operating is our spiritual protective factor. And what that means is really about what gives us hope. What gives us hope for the future? What gives us hope for life? What feeds our soul? What do we believe in outside of ourselves? And that is just very important when we are feeling. overwhelmed and like we're barely keeping our head above water. It's like we believe in a bigger picture. We have things that provide hope to us. And so we know we can get through this. This is a setback. We may not be able to hold on to everything the way we are now. But we have hope that in the future, things will work out and we'll make it.

Angela Anderson:
Thank you very much.

Keith Olander:
Two things that I would add to that. On farm business management, one thing that we are pretty consistent with is what's the plan? And sometimes you can help the mental health just because there's so much uncertainty, but what are the things that we can say, if this, then this? And our faculty are really good at helping think about that. Sometimes that's only 30 day plans and sometimes they're all year plans, right? But when you're in crisis mode, it's, okay, what are we gonna do for the next 30 to 60 days? And we're gonna take concrete steps. And if this happens, then we're gonna take this action. And that tends to help, it doesn't cure, it tends to help set out expectations and clear the mind a little bit, because then there's a clear decision gonna come based upon what markets do, what weather does, et cetera, and can help kind of bring things forward because there's a plan in place. And the faculty then... come back every six to eight weeks to hold people accountable to the plan because it was a mutual plan that was created. Not always is that the way it goes but I've witnessed that when I work with families and our faculty are just really good at that's one of their roles is you know when we do record-keeping as the other side is kind of we talk about goals right but it's sometimes we think of that just as help managing the muck in tough situations but having a plan as to how we're going to deal with the outcomes whatever they are. that can help clarify that. The other side that farmers really are poor at generally is taking a break. And that's a challenge. So sometimes that can be just an evening and we go do something different off the farm, be it with a spouse or family or friends, whatever, but do that. Sometimes that's every week or once a month. And sometimes that means you need to step away for one or two days and you'll work. alcoholic kind of tends to be what a farmer is, right, that they just embody we're gonna do this, especially during the growing season. So how is it that from a stress standpoint, what is it, you know, that I do activity wise? I agree with Monica completely on the physical health, but it's this other idea of where am I gonna step away for the health of family and relationships? And maybe it's just that evening, but do something, you know, and so again, it's just that challenge of what are you doing in your actions. to step away and try that sometimes then pulls the mind away a little bit, even if it's for a few hours and hopefully it's for a day or two. But that's something that we try to help farmers with.

Angela Anderson:
I think that's really great advice from both of you. I think what I'm hearing is just that to be intentional about taking care of yourself and the plan, you're developing a plan gives you a sense of control, which maybe is something that, you know, when that's missing is making you feel worse, right? So that's great. Stacey, do you want to go ahead?

Staci:
Yeah, so there was, you guys both touched on it, just talking about the, some of those common stressors of what it means, what it takes and the toll that the stress can take on a body. And then Keith, you were mentioning as well, just some of the strategies, maybe your coping mechanisms that you find is helpful. Is there anything else, anything? specific that farmers and agricultural professionals can employ to manage stress and improve their mental well-being in addition to the things that you've already mentioned such as you know making having the plans and making the goals and maybe just even the act of stepping away for a minute to take a breath that kind of stuff. Is there anything else that you find is helpful?

Monica McConkey:
Yeah, I can expand on that a little bit. So I think, first of all, I'll just say that different things work for different people. So we could throw out ideas on how to manage stress and what to do. And, and if it doesn't resonate with you, and you've tried it, and you're just not seeing any improvement, you know, that's okay, that may not be a strategy that works for you. But let's find something then that does. So yeah, we've talked about several things already. One thing that is really important is to know that when you are really stressed and your emotions are elevated, your thinking brain shuts off. And so it is really hard to make decisions, to be rational, to think through things, to communicate well. And so just know when this goes back to just kind of taking, just take a step back. Sometimes it's like, I'm gonna go for a little walk. Gonna take some slow deep breaths, gets oxygen to our brain, helps us calm. Those are just like in the moment things we can do. Another really in the moment thing we can do when we feel like our stress or anxiety is kind of spiraling out of control is just, Tune into your five senses. Take a few minutes, one at a time. Just take note of what am I seeing? The colors I'm seeing, the shapes I'm seeing, the textures, the movement, and then go to hearing and then taste and then smell and then touch. And don't rush through it. But basically what that happens is our brains can only think about one thing at a time, even though we think we can think about many things at a time, we can't. It's one thing at a time and we can jump from things really quickly and our thoughts come and go. But if we can just focus on our five senses one at a time for a few minutes, it can calm us down. It can stop the rush of thoughts and worries from outside of ourselves and just give us a little pause and a little reset. So that's another strategy that works. Keith talked about making a plan that is incredibly important because, again, when our, our emotional brain is firing our thinking brain shuts off. So to kind of flip that switch, if we can make a plan, think through steps, and prioritize, it helps engage that thinking brain so we're not living in all the big emotion and worry and frustration again to I think the last thing I would say is farmers tend to spend a fair bit of time looking back and regretting decisions they've made or didn't make years ago. They tend to look forward and think like worst case scenario, not in a planning way, but in a worrying way. And so it's important that as much as possible, we just try to be right here, right now. This is what's on our plate right now. this is what's on my plate today. These are decisions I have to make today. These are tasks I have to complete today. And let me just be focused right here and right now. So those are a few more things to think about when we're really feeling stressed.

Angela Anderson:
Thank you, Monica. That's some really great advice. Keith, do you have anything to add on that one?

Keith Olander:
Yeah, thanks, Angela. Just a couple things and I'll come back, I guess, kind of to the finances and numbers, because that's what we focus on in, in farm business management. Farmers that are in there will have historical records and financial records. And so when you get to this point where you're really frustrated and you're caught in the moment of how bad everything is, there's two things, two tools that we use. You know, they talk about farmers in general that they're cash poor and asset rich and not to get into too much lingo here, but a farmer's life of 40 years, right? They build a lot of assets over time. And they, when they're emotionally caught up, they forget that. They, so then what we can do is we pull out a nice little, there's a comparative balance sheet we do, which you can reflect back to, you know, 2015 was a poor year, I'm just using the example. And you begin to reminisce a little bit that, you know, we've been through this before. because agriculture is cyclical. Weather is cyclical, markets are cyclical. And we've come through these times before, and you tend to draw a little parallel in that. And that sometimes can bring solace to just the situation of, yep, it's tough. We've been here before, but let's look forward to where we could be six or eight months from now, because chances are another part of the cycle is coming or maybe it's another year or so. The other thing we do is a thing called benchmarking, which really is an anonymous comparison to peers and those are good things too because you can look at sometimes they think that they're on an island like my operation is suffering and I'm alone and this is not good and you know on and on but the reality is if a farmer is having problems financially in a certain area, let's take dairy or beef or whatever. They're all in this situation and they tend to lose that perspective that you know if I'm managing so to speak, the same as my peers, and I'm competitive amongst my peers, we're all in this situation. And if they're at the local coffee shop, they may get some of that, but you can help ground things a little bit to say, yep, we're in a tough situation. We've been here before historically in years, and I'm comparing management against my peers. Those are a few little things that I think can help to that ground things a little bit.

Angela Anderson:
Thank you, Keith. 
Monica and Keith,if we wanna start and just share with our listeners a little bit more about this rural mental health program, I think that would be a great place to start.

Monica McConkey:
Sure, I can jump in. I joined the program in 2019 as the second rural mental health counselor in the state of Minnesota. And I'll let Keith kind of talk about the origins and how it all works, but I can talk about the work that I do. And I am available to farmers and ranchers and their family members in Minnesota. and provide free counseling services. And there's no insurance billed, there's no paperwork, there's no diagnosis. It's just really all barriers removed for them to access someone who they can talk to during times of struggle or stress. I grew up on a farm, my family farms. The farm is a fifth lived them and I think that definitely helps me to be able to understand what my folks are talking about when they call. And I will also just say that you know any avenue is open. You can call, you can text, you can email. I meet with a lot of my farmers in person on the farm, but those who not to have that as an option, we can talk by phone. Sometimes I have one conversation by phone and I never talk with that person again and sometimes we meet weekly for months and months. So just to put that out there, there's like no right or wrong way, there's no box necessarily that this service fits in. It's really about meeting the farmer where they're at and with what they need and supporting them through that process.

Angela Anderson:
Keith, would you share anything differently for yourself as far as your side of the program and what you've seen as it's developed from the beginning till now, I guess? you.

Keith Olander:
Yeah, thank you, Angela. I think,

Angela Anderson:
Yeah.

Keith Olander:
you know, obviously the program, we don't have to go a lot into history, but it's been around. It came out of the 80s, really in the farm crisis time was the origins of the program. But with Ted and Monica on board now, and as Monica alludes to, you know, no insurance, just a lot of hurdles that are taken away when you can just call somebody. I think that message I'd like to get out to folks is this idea that. you have somebody that obviously you can build some trust with, but they're going to be an objective view of what sometimes is an emotional conversation. And so if you're having struggles within relationship, and that we think of that always within spouses or marriages, but think of that with just within families and generations, where we see it in farm transition, but to have somebody that you can either call or bring to the farm. And just had them give an objective overview of that and if need be do it several times over. We are very fortunate in Minnesota to have these individuals and this program, this does not exist across the country and I hear that multiple times of how fortunate we are to have these individuals that you know really focus on the farming sector. But I also you know when you think about the agribusiness folks or even our faculty who work with farmers and their ability to be able to reach out and check themselves. You know, I think anybody that works in a situation where you're dealing with problems on a very regular basis and trying to help people through that, you need to figure out somewhere where you're gonna charge yourself. And Monica and Ted offer that as well. Just that ability to just call and talk through. And sometimes that's all it is, is the ability to just talk through things. But really valuable, and I don't think it's anything that anybody should fear. I think sometimes we, myself included, this idea of depression or I'm not that way or I don't do that. But the fact of the matter is we all have stressors and the loads we have from society today get greater as we go. And so to have the ability to call Tetra Monica and be able to work through that or whatever it is for you, but realize that it does impact your life and you have to have a mechanism by which you deal with that in a healthy way. And these two individuals offer that.

Angela Anderson:
Thank you, Keith. I just want to thank you both for taking the time today to meet with Stacey and I and talk about this. We appreciate the work that you're doing. And we're so grateful to our farmers. They're important to our survival, we know, and we care about them and the challenges that they're facing. So we also wanted to mention that there are resources available. So if you don't mind, could you, Keith, you have some too, I'm sure Monica, can you share just some of the phone numbers and ways that they can connect with you?

Monica McConkey:
Yes, for sure. So I'll give my cell phone number. It is 218-280-7785. And again, 218-280-7785. And there is in Minnesota a farm and ranch helpline. And that is run through the Department of Agriculture and farmers can call for a variety of issues. It doesn't have to be mental health. It can be that they're you know they have financial questions or they're struggling. But if it is around stress or mental health those calls will be forwarded to Ted and I. And so the number for the Farm and Rural Helpline is 833. six zero two six seven zero again that's eight three six zero two six seven zero and i'll just put a plug in as well for nine eight nine eight is a number that you can call it's easy to remember um and it's um a suicide and crisis hotline it's nationwide but they'll link you with someone in your state and you don't You don't need to be feeling suicidal to call it, you can just be really struggling and need somebody to talk to. So again, that is just very simple to remember in 988.

Angela Anderson:
Thank you. Keith, do you want to share anything on the farm business management side for contacts? And I will also put this in the link that is out there for the podcast. So there'll be that, you know, phone numbers and appropriate email or website links listed also. So I'll make sure to add that.

Keith Olander:
Thank you, Angela. Our center's website, eggcentric.org, so eggcentric, A-G-C-N-T-R-I-C. Just Google that or you can just go to eggcentric.org. It has Monica's contact information, TED's there. There's also some short video clips about Farm Business Management, if that interests you. But all of these resources are listed there and can help you forward as well as my contact information as well. So. I would just suggest doing a Google on that side. And that helps too, if you just want to try to visualize what some of this is, before reaching out, there's an option for you to do that as well. So those short little clips.

Angela Anderson:
That's wonderful. Thank you, Keith. Stacy, before we end, do you have anything else that you want to say or add?

Staci:
just, yeah, no, thank you guys. Thank you very much for all of this, for all of the work that you put into this and continue to do for this project. I know it is incredibly valuable and I know that there's been a lot of success stories that have come from your guys' work as well. So thank you.

Monica McConkey:
Yeah, thanks for doing this, for featuring this topic. I appreciate it.