Ontario Grain Farmer December 2021/January 2022

Cover story 6 RECENT RESEARCH RESULTS have confirmed what we already knew — many farmers suffer from depression and anxiety in the face of ongoing stress. In 2018, Grain Farmers of Ontario’s Board of Directors took a step to address this issue, through mandating the creation of a ‘Farmer Wellness’ program. “The program’s purpose is to foster awareness and provide access to prevention, support, and training resources while developing strategic partnerships to further our efforts,” explains Sarah Plater Findlay, Grain Farmers of Ontario’s human resources consultant. One of those partnerships (which also involved other farming associations and government) supported the creation of a critical recent study called ‘Healthy Minds, Healthy Farms: Exploring the Connection between Mental Health and Farm Business Management’ by Farm Management Canada (FMC). The results of this national in-depth study highlight how the mental health of farmers can be supported through their implementation of business management practices. Specifically, the study found that creating and following a written business plan leads to lower farmer stress levels, and also more effective coping mechanisms. In addition, farmers who use a written business plan also frequently follow other business practices such as adhering to a budget and benchmarking farm performance. Yet, in this study, FMC found that only 21 per cent of farmers regularly follow a written business plan, and 48 per cent indicate they never do so, or only do so rarely. REDUCING UNCERTAINTY The idea for this study came to Heather Watson, FMC executive director, when she attended the 2018 Canadian Young Farmers’ Forum and heard Dr. David Posen speak about the potential effects of strong and prolonged exposure to stress. “He spoke about how much of the stress we feel is caused by uncertainty and worry, and how it can cause us to lose sleep, isolate from family and friends, become quick- tempered and have difficulty prioritizing and making decisions,” Watson says. “I knew from our own observations and the recent work of Dr. Andria Jones-Bitton that Canada’s farmers were under a lot of stress.” Watson connected this fact (and how high stress levels could be detrimental to managing the farm) with FMC’s work to promote “the adoption of farm business practices, including planning, as a way to reduce uncertainty and put measures in place to facilitate prioritization and timely, informed decision-making.” Farm business planning starts with assessing the farm’s current business situation against the vision and goals of the farm and everyone involved, then putting a plan in place towards reaching those goals while also trying to anticipate bumps in the road. “Farming is riddled with risk and uncertainty, from weather to markets and the people on your farm team, so it’s important to think about what COULD happen, and put contingency plans in place to mark potential detours if things don’t go according to plan,” Watson says. “What if hail knocks out your crop? What if disease knocks out your livestock? What if your best employee decides to leave? By taking a proactive approach to planning, you’ll be able to sleep better knowing there’s a plan in place, no matter what happens — ultimately, taking some of the uncertainty out of farming.” WRITTEN ROADMAP Watson and her team emphasize putting the plan into writing for many reasons. For one, having a written document enables everyone involved to see where the farm leaders want to go and to get excited about the journey ahead. A written farm plan also enables identification of different strengths and potential opportunities, but also areas of weakness and unknowns. In addition, when obstacles inevitably present themselves, a written roadmap provides guidance that helps curb those natural Farm management and mental health A CLEAR CONNECTION Treena Hein continued on page 8 • Farm business planning starts with assessing the farm’s current business situation against the vision and goals of the farm. • Creating and following a written business plan leads to lower farmer stress levels, and also more effective coping mechanisms. • Farmers can start the business planning process by conducting a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. • Some farmers resist the idea of a business plan because they believe farming is too unpredictable for planning, or because they simply don’thave time. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW