The Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health learned during a meeting of about 30 people recently that they would like to hear more about challenges such as farm succession, farm safety, anything related to farm efficiency, stress management and achieving that balance between home and work.
Becky Higgs, who is leading the research, said many farmers are determined to get work done and because they live where they work, they tend to work too long.
“What we realized when we were doing the research with SHED Talks (Sustaining Healthy Farms Through Empowerment and Dedication) was that no one truly knows the farm better than the farmers themselves, so it makes it difficult for some of them to explain what’s going on at the farm when these people aren’t there all the time,” she said.
Higgs says other major stressors are finances and trying to find the balance between work and home life.
There are plans to expand the project to Huron and Perth Counties.
