The current farm crisis is taking a toll on the health of
Georgia’s farm families. Financial and emotional pressures can be
debilitating.

“Farm families are experiencing pressure, conflict and
uncertainty,” said Don Bower, an Extension Service human
development specialist with the University of Georgia College of
Family and Consumer Sciences.

Feelings of frustration and helplessness can lead to intense
family problems. “If left unresolved, these feelings can lead to
costly accidents and deaths,” Bower said.

Farming Is Stressful

Farming is among the most stressful and dangerous occupations.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
recently examined 130 occupations. It found laborers and farm
owners had the highest rate of deaths due to stress-related
conditions like heart and artery disease, hypertension, ulcers
and nervous disorders.

The National Safety Council lists agriculture and mining as the
two most hazardous occupations in the country. “Yet farmers are
the most underinsured group of workers around,” Bower said,
“especially with regard to health and disability insurance.”

Farming Is Changing

Farming is also changing fast. Once largely a physical
occupation, farming is demanding more thought. Farmers now manage
large sums of money and tackle new technology in machinery and
equipment. To stay competitive, they must know the best
production and management strategies.

Some farmers thrive under all the pressures, while others
crumble. Researchers have identified three key factors for
managing stress.

“First, individuals vary in their capacity to tolerate stress,”
Bower said. “While part of an individual’s stress tolerance is
inborn, a crucial part depends on the quality of skills
practiced. Coping successfully once makes it easier the next
time.”

A second factor is feeling in control, the expert said.
Successful stress managers know how to accept what they can’t
control, like weather and markets. They concentrate on solving
problems within their control.

The third factor involves the attitudes, perceptions and meanings
people assign to events.

“A person has to perceive a situation as stressful or threatening
to experience stress,” Bower said.

Recognizing Early Warning Signs

Farm families need to recognize early warning signs of stress so
they can protect their health and safety, Bower said.

Rising blood pressure, rapidly beating heart, clenched teeth,
aching neck and shoulders, sweating hands and feet and churning
stomach are clear warning signs.

“If you ignore your body’s physical signs of stress and strain
too long, you invite real problems,” Bower said. “Hypertension,
declining health, accident proneness, serious illness, nervous
breakdown or coronary heart disease can result.”

Bower encouraged farm families act at the first sign of stress.

“Before farm families can manage stress, they have to know when
they are experiencing it,” he said.