How To Handle Tough Times In Farming

By Raylene Nickel

Stress goes hand in hand with farming and ranching. It’s built into the natural rhythms we live by: unpredictable weather, livestock that sometimes decides to live by its own rules, and plants that get derailed by disease, drought, rain, or cold.

Nevertheless, the rewards of a rural life and work on a farm or ranch abound: the natural beauties, the freedoms, and the opportunity to participate in nature’s circle of life.

Yet, sometimes the stress outweighs the rewards, bogging us down in emotional burdens. Most are precipitated by circumstances beyond our control, causing those feelings of helplessness that are particularly detrimental to emotional well-being.