The Do More Agriculture Foundation has launched AgTalk, a platform for those in the Canadian agriculture industry. It is a partnership between the foundation, RBC, BASF and the McCain Foundation and is facilitated by Togetherall, an online mental health support community used by more than 250 private organizations.

“We are the national voice and champion for mental health in Canadian agriculture and we’re working to change the culture in agriculture to one where all are empowered to take care of their well-being,” said Do More Agriculture executive director Megz Reynolds at the June 20 launch in Regina.

Why it matters: Mental health advocates say farmers often suffer in silence from high levels of stress, anxiety, burnout and depression.

The platform will be monitored at all hours by licensed clinicians and open to anyone involved in agriculture aged 16 and up.

Reynolds pointed to a now well-circulated study from the University of Guelph in 2016-17, in which 35 per cent of surveyed producers met the classification for depression and 58 per cent met the classification for anxiety. About 45 per cent reported higher stress.

Another survey from the same researchers in 2021 had no better results. Over twice as many farmers suffered from suicide ideation compared to the national average and 76 per cent were experiencing “moderate or high perceived stress.”

About a quarter said they “felt their life was not worth living, wished they were dead, or thought of taking their own life” in the year prior to the survey.

As well as being anonymous, developers say Ag Talk focuses on easy accessibility.

“You could be in the cab of a piece of equipment; you could be in the barn and you don’t necessarily need to tell anyone that you’re connecting for support, because sometimes you don’t want people to know in your life that you’re reaching out,” Reynolds said.

Jonathan Sweat, vice-president of BASF Agricultural Solutions, noted his own experience with mental health.

“Growing up in agriculture myself, growing up in a farmhouse, you witness the stress firsthand,” he said. “And of course it doesn’t stop with growers. It goes beyond farmers to the people like us who serve farmers.

“This is something that I think will be warmly received and I look forward to seeing how this goes. Having access to mental health support is essential for those living and working in the farming environment.”

Reynolds later said farmers are often concerned about sharing stories with people they may know personally. Because of this, AgTalk will connect farmers to help from all across Canada, not just in their own communities.

“If I’m a farmer in Nova Scotia, I don’t want to connect to another farmer in Nova Scotia because that’s too close to home and I’m not going to feel comfortable sharing,” she said.

Reynolds also noted the stigma often attached to mental health.

“External stigma is what is going to keep someone from booking an appointment with a mental health professional in their community because they’re afraid someone will drive by and see their truck parked outside.

“Internal stigma is what keeps someone from being able to recognize that there is something going on, that they’re possibly struggling and then being able to accept it.

“In agriculture, we’re a very stoic industry,” she said. “There’s a reason there’s a saying, ‘cowboy up’ or ‘tough it out.’ Traditionally, people have connected talking about mental health — or being open about the fact that maybe you’re having a hard time right now because of everything that’s going on out of your control — that [it] means that you’re weak, which of course it doesn’t.”

Reynolds said sources of stress and anxiety for farmers can come from a wide variety of areas, including weather, disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine and the pandemic.

“It really feels like the hits just aren’t stopping coming. They just keep coming and you’re getting less time between the challenges,” she said.

“It could be the weather. It could be not being able to say what you’re selling your product or your quantity for. It could be living and working with family.”

She added that many farmers feel anxiety over the possibility of activists disturbing their operations or exposing them to biosecurity risk.

‘Self-maintenance’

Reynolds said AgTalk will focus on ‘self-maintenance’ rather than ‘self-care.’

“Self-care comes across too fluffy sometimes.”

In contrast, self-maintenance is about recharging internal batteries, “especially before going into some of those really busy seasons,” and taking the chance to control the stress-causing aspects of farm life when the opportunities arise. This could include financial literacy or emergency preparedness, she said.

More information on AgTalk can be found at the Do More Agriculture Foundation’s website.

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Kudos to the organizers: the two-day conference put on by a consortium of nine commodity groups has proven itself a success on numerous fronts. With all the commodity groups out there vying for farmers’ attention, there are only so many meetings one can handle, especially with many farmers also engaged in off-farm work.

By pooling their resources, these groups are able to bring in a better lineup of guest speakers and get more people to their annual business sessions where different perspectives on important topics, such as the Seed Synergy project and paying for new varieties, can be aired.

Plus, anyone working as a professional agronomist in this industry must demonstrate that they are continuously learning in order to maintain their credentials. They can attend sessions at an event like this and pick up “certified crop adviser” credits.

The first thing that confronted me walking in the door was the sea of young faces at the sold-out event. Granted, in agriculture, “young” is a relative term. The average age of a farmer in Canada is 55.

But the 2016 Census of Agriculture captured some subtle shifts in the farm demographics that suggest the pace of intergenerational transfer is starting to pick up. Farmers under the age of 35 now make up 9.1 per cent of the farm operators in Canada, up from 8.2 per cent in 2011. As well as the increase in proportion, their absolute numbers increased by about three per cent, the first increase since 1991.

It’s clear that many of them find an event like this, with its mix of intel and entertainment, a good way to spend a couple of days during the cold winter months.

While there are more women than ever before working in the sector, it’s still pretty much a man’s game, judging from the turnout at this event.

Precision and digital farming topics are getting lots of traction as farmers begin to grasp the vast potential. However, it’s also a wake-up call. A number of speakers pointed out that some of the technology that seems just now on a tipping point for farmer uptake has been around for nearly two decades. While some technologies, such as genetically modified crops, were rapidly embraced, it has taken a generation for farmers to start seriously harnessing the power of data.

However, a couple of sessions during the jam-packed agenda at the conference strayed from the usual banquet of upbeat, how-to and take-charge presentations.

One was a session on mental health, a topic that has loomed large on conference agendas since a group formed the non-profit Do More Ag Foundation to raise awareness about mental health issues among farmers.

As with the rest of society, mental health can lurk below the radar of those surrounding a person who is suffering. What makes it more problematic in rural communities is that people are often isolated geographically and socially. Farming culture tends to play up the notion of strong and independent types — which makes those feeling depression less willing to risk being seen as weak.

The other was a session with a lawyer spelling out what rural property owners can and cannot do when it comes to protecting themselves from trespassers and thieves.

The much-publicized confrontation in a Saskatchewan farmyard in 2016 that left one person dead and a farmer charged with second-degree murder left a deep imprint in the minds of people on both sides of the incident.

In that case, a jury acquitted the farmer.

But those attending this session were cautioned against using force to deter invaders unless they feel their lives are in danger. “I think there are a lot of misconceptions out there when it comes to protecting property,” lawyer Lisa LaBossiere told the packed meeting room. She blames American television.

Using weapons to defend property isn’t supported under law, unless there is a clear threat of personal harm.

There’s no question farmers feel vulnerable, again, because they often live isolated from support services. Managing the farm’s day-to-day operations involves huge investments in ‘stuff’ such as tools, implements and vehicles that thieves like to target. Keeping their things secure is secondary only to protecting their families from criminal elements who are increasingly brash.

It seems the trends of consolidation and growth that have made farming an attractive business for young people to consider have also made the farm a lonelier place to be.

Social media is no substitute for social gatherings, such as the bonspiel weekends and other community events that defined rural culture in the past.

It gives new meaning to the notion of tough times on the farm.

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That’s Cynthia Beck, a suicide intervention responder in Saskatchewan speaking in a series of videos she’s produced for a new Farm Credit Canada resource identifying how to stay mentally healthy when faced with the challenges of an agricultural and rural lifestyle.

Why it matters: A U of Guelph report found while most farmers said they would seek help for their mental health 40 per cent reported they would feel uneasy getting help “because of what other people might think.”

Rooted in Strength — Taking care of our Families and Ourselves has been mailed out to 165,000 rural mailboxes and is also available for downloading.

(Rooted in Strength — Taking care of our Families and Ourselves can be downloaded as a PDF here)

The resource contains real stories and expert advice and is uniquely geared to the farm community.

It was created to help all Canadian farm families look after their mental health, say FCC officials.

“Our desire is to help lift the stigma around mental health by promoting awareness, encouraging dialogue and enabling people throughout the agriculture industry to seek support if they need it,” writes Michael Hoffort, FCC president and CEO.

“As strong and resilient as those who make a living growing food are, these struggles aren’t meant to be faced alone and no one should be expected to tough it out without help.”

Rooted in Strength includes a broad range of resources such as phone numbers to reach crisis services across Canada. Farmers tell personal stories about recognizing their own difficulties and why they sought help for them.

“Mental health is part of our overall health. Like physical health, we need to care for it,” says Saskatchewan farmer and entrepreneur Kim Keller whose story of her own diagnosis with anxiety is included in it.

Keller is also co-founder of Do More Ag and was in Manitoba recently speaking at Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference with co-founder Leslie Kelly about the campaign’s advocacy work and efforts to make it easier for the farm community to talk about mental health.

Another resource included in the resource is ‘My Dashboard’ a green-to-red zone chart to help gauge where one may be on the spectrum from optimal mental health to to mental illness.

Signs of good mental health include being rarely sick, able to focus, feeling motivated and taking regular breaks, while skipping social activities, impaired decision-making, addictive behaviours and worrying excessively are indicators mental health isn’t optimal.

Farmers were also asked to share their own strategies in Rooted in Strength for what they do to stay mentally healthy.

‘Plan my work so it can be completed in a reasonable time frame,’ and, ‘set achievable goals,’ were some. ‘I make sure I talk to people,’ and, ‘Get away from the farm — even for an hour,’ were others.

As Beck points out in a video segment on isolation, keeping to oneself can take a heavy toll.

“Psychology research shows that loneliness and isolation can have a negative impact on our mental and physical health,” she says. “For those of us who live and work in agriculture it can be fairly easy to be isolated, simply from where we live. Maybe we have family and friends around us but we choose to keep our thoughts or our problems to ourselves.

“If you are having trouble dealing with life or business stressors, do not isolate yourself.”

Mental well-being is the combination of:

• How you feel about yourself, the world and your life
• Your ability to solve problems and overcome challenges
• Your ability to build relationships with others and contribute to your communities
• Your ability to achieve your goals at work and in life

— Rooted in Strength Adapted from hr.UBC.ca

The Rooted in Strength video can be viewed at farms.com.

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We’ve always had a crop. We would this year too. It wouldn’t be a bumper crop. Not even an average one, but after being married to a farmer for 29 years, I knew the risks. Only two years ago, we’d struggled with the reverse — three months of excess rain. Weather challenges are not a shock nor surprise. Disappointing, yes, but I know worrying doesn’t change it, or help me in any way.

So I tucked my worries away, concerned for the pressure my farmer was feeling, but confident I was dealing well with the lack of rain. I kept busy, focused on other things, took advantages of get-togethers with friends and carried on.

Then on June 29 it rained! Such relief! We woke to 13.4 mm in the rain gauge! The most substantial rainfall we’d had all spring. The crops looked so much better that day.

But I noticed something else. I felt happier, lighter. There was a spring in my step I hadn’t had for a while. I was smiling more. Despite believing I was dealing well with the drought-like conditions, it was still a weight I carried on my shoulders. I wasn’t immune to worry. Damn. Not as strong as I think I am.

I talked to a couple of other farming friends who could relate. It was a reminder to be aware, to look out not only for our farming partners in times of stress, but also to look after ourselves. To talk about what’s going on if we need to, even if we don’t want to be seen as that person complaining about the weather — again, despite those concerns being valid.

The business of producing food has many rewards, but it isn’t easy dealing with the weather-dependent aspect of farming. We can do absolutely everything to the best of our ability but ultimately Mother Nature holds the cards, determines the outcome — and our income. Every. Single. Year. I’m not sure it’s a risk you ever get used to, so finding ways to cope is important.

Building a support system helps. Personally I have friends — farming and non-farming — who truly understand and are always there for me. I met with a counsellor last winter whose door is always open any time I need to talk. As well, there are many resources available at Manitoba Farm, Rural and Northern Support Services.

More recently, the Do More Ag Foundation was founded by a group of people passionate about mental health in agriculture. They are not only creating awareness, educating and breaking the stigma, but are also creating a community for people to connect and find the resources they need — national, provincial and territorial — in times of stress and anxiety.

Through their website I discovered there’s even an app for that. Calm in the Storm is a free app, created by mental health professionals in Manitoba, launched in December 2014. The easy-to-use app and website are designed to reduce, manage, and learn about stress in your life using clinically proven information and strategies. Features include guided audio meditations, tools for assessing your stress with ways to customize and track your experience and even create a personalized safety plan.

A helpful tool for anyone and one I will be exploring as our crops continue to struggle with no measurable rainfall since July 4 (a mere seven mm). The recent heat wave has taken its toll on our farm and those around us. Other areas have been hit hard with storms and hail. With farming we rarely get the perfect year, but the extremes are especially challenging. The hold the weather has on our lives and livelihoods can, at times, be tiring.

A friend recently posted a picture of a canola field damaged by hail, stating, “Farmers are proud to share the good stories but suffer silently with the bad ones.” So true. It is much easier to share our successes than our hardships. But the culture is slowly shifting, for the better. There is more openness, increased awareness and many resources available for our mental well-being. No need to suffer silently in times of stress. Strength is being redefined. It no longer means carrying the load on your own.

Sandi Knight and her husband farm near Macdonald.

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“It has been absolutely incredible the support that we have been getting for sure,” Kim Keller, one of the foundation’s four founders and acting executive director, said in an interview May 17.

May 9 Bayer announced a $20,000 donation to the foundation “to support its mission of providing support and resources to farmers seeking mental health assistance.”

Other major companies, including Syngenta, Seed Master and Co-op, are listed as partners on the foundation’s website, as is the Canadian Mental Health Association.

“The support we have got is absolutely incredible,” said Keller, who farms with her family near Gronlid in northeast Saskatchewan. “It will allow us to do some pretty amazing things I feel and really reaching as many producers in this first year (of operating) that we possibly can.”

The Do More Ag Foundation was registered as a not-for-profit organization in January. It’s not a registered charity, so it can’t issue tax receipts to donors. However, the foundation will apply to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to become a registered charity, Keller said.

“We have not submitted the application yet, but we are working on the application with lawyers to get that submitted,” she said.

“We’ve been told not to expect charity status any sooner than the end of the year.”

Registered charities are exempt from paying income taxes and can issue official donation receipts for income tax purposes, a CRA official wrote in an email May 18.

“Registered charities must use all their resources for charitable activities…” the official wrote.

There are three types of registered charities — charitable organizations, public foundations and private foundations. Designation depends on structure, source of funding and mode of operation.

More than 50 per cent of board members serving on a public foundation must be at arm’s length.

To that end the Do More Ag Foundation is seeking outside directors to help oversee its operations, Keller said.

The foundation will be accountable to the public by publishing its audited financial statements, she said.

“We want to make sure that all of the funds are deployed properly and they’re being put to the very best use they possibly can with the end goal of making sure everyone in the agriculture community is taking care of their mental well-being,” Keller said.

The Do More Ag Foundation came about after Keller received a private message through Twitter last summer from someone she didn’t know who has lost a farm-client to suicide. This person had seen what Keller, and her Farm At Hand app business partner Himanshu Singh, had done to raise awareness about farmers’ mental health with their #HereforFarmers T-shirt campaign. The money was donated to the Saskatchewan farm stress line.

Keller and Singh later sold Farm At Hand.

“After I received that message I put the call out on Twitter and the reaction and the conversation that started, made myself, Himanshu Singh, Lesley Kelly and Kurt Muyres (the other participants in the Do More Ag Foundation) come together and we decided that someone needed to do something and someone needed to take the lead on that and we were those people who could get the ball rolling and get started on it,” Keller said.

Singh is a consultant, Kelly farms and writes the blog ‘High Heels & Canola Fields’ and Kirk Muyres is a mortgage broker.

The Do More Ag Foundation has three pillars, Keller said. The first is creating awareness about mental health through education and trying to break the stigma around it.

Second is creating a community to connect people and help them find mental health resources.

Third is supporting research into the mental health of farmers.

The foundation hasn’t set a funding target yet.

“We’re so brand new we’re still just making sure that we’re getting our feet underneath of us and making sure that we’re deploying the funds that we do have so far in the right manner,” Keller said. “I imagine that next year we will have a goal of how much funds we want to raise.”

Despite recent efforts to break the stigma around mental health across society, it clearly exists. And it might even be a bigger challenge for farmers who have a reputation for stoicism and pride. Research from the University of Guelph appears to back that up. Forty per cent of the farmers it interviewed said they would be uneasy about seeking help with mental health for fear of what people might think.

“So that’s a barrier,” Keller said.

“That’s part of the work that we are doing. Breaking that stigma is the first and most important step that we can take right now.

“I think we’re going to be able to do a lot of good and have a great and positive impact.”

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