Just like in rugby, there are always going to be things in farming you can’t control.
In rugby it’s the ref. In farming it might be the weather, commodity prices or new legislation.
What you can control, however, is how you react and think about a situation. That can have a big impact on your stress levels.
Healthy thinking is about catching negative thoughts then thinking about a situation in a more helpful way.
An example: Yes, it’s been a tough year with drought but the long-range forecast is more promising and every farmer in this area has been through this before and got through okay.
Thinking like this gives you balance and helps you manage stress.
If you feel like you are not coping it’s about being proactive and coming up with an action plan.
Focus on the things you can control.
Ask yourself what are the one or two top things you need to work on right now? Is it destocking, fertiliser and getting extra staff – what’s going to make the biggest difference?
Focus on the top two things and park everything else. Once you are feeling back in charge your stress levels will go down.
Staying in the right head-space means you’re much more likely to cope when the weather or the global market throw a curve ball your way.
Here’s how other farmers look after the top paddock.
Blake Marshall, dairy farmer, Canterbury
I can’t control the milk price or exchange rate or Government policy.
All I can do is control the way I respond to those things.
If people can learn to deal with a stressful situation in a positive way they’re much more likely to move out of it quickly.
Often there’s an on-farm event you can’t control – you can’t change that but you can stop yourself getting stressed all over again by having a good response to it. Knowing how to frame stuff in your head when you’re under pressure really helps.
Tangaroa Walker, contract milker, Southland
I see the farm, the investors and the people who work on it a bit like a trailer.
I’m providing the pulling power to move it forward so I’ve got to make sure my head-space is good and that I turn up for work every day with yesterday’s stresses gone. If I don’t, it’s going to slow down the vehicle.
Geoff Spark, dairy farmer, Canterbury
“If you’ve got your life in balance – your family, your fitness and your mental wellbeing – then your farming’s going to go well too.
It’s really great to get local farmers together to support that idea.
Cheyenne Wilson, contract milker/agribusiness student
Sometimes we are our own worst critics.
I’ve learnt it’s important to just step back and acknowledge what you’ve achieved and value your skills.
One of the things I’ve learned is to enjoy the small wins in the industry, the little achievements throughout the season. It’s all those moments that add up to the big production target at the end of the season.
Nick Bertram, sharemilker, Woodville
The thing with farming is that if you’re working too hard and not eating or getting enough sleep a problem becomes a lot bigger than it needs to be.
You need to keep things in perspective.
That’s why I joined the volunteer fire brigade. A call-out from the fire brigade soon changes your mindset about what’s a bad day.
I like to say farming is half of my life and being with my family is the other half. It is easy to forget that sometimes.
Duncan Rutherford, dairy farmer, North Canterbury
Farming can get stressful at times and the pressures are different for everyone.
If there’s a drought, for example, the farm owner and the farm manager will be getting stressed out but if it’s a wet winter it’s the junior staff who get stressed because they’re out in the mud every day.
It’s about being aware of things like that. We make sure our farm managers always have a lever to pull in terms of buying feed or destocking. There’s always a way out for them, so they don’t get stressed.
