A new study from the University of Guelph says women's mental health is further strained by visible and invisible workloads/
They also lack recognition, often referred to as the farmer’s wife, not a farmer.
Jennifer Schooley, president of the Norfolk County Federation of Agriculture told CBC News that one of the more frustrating aspects of being a farmer are the assumptions people make about her as a woman in the agricultural industry.
"Growing up and watching that and the work (her mother and grandmother) put into it, I had no desire to farm because it's a lot of hard work for not a lot of money and it's a thankless job," she said.
It was during the pandemic Schooley decided to get behind the wheel of the family tractor to help her aging parents.
Now she has been able to host talks about life as a female farmer.
"It's a great opportunity to get the conversation started and it's a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the words that [other farmers] use and gender assumptions that they have when working with women in farming," she said.
"You're not just farming outside, but you're also the wife, the mother, most often the dinner maker, the clothes cleaner, the doctor taker, you're the peace maker and problem solver, the school liaison," she said.
"You're still having all these roles and expectations on you and that can be a lot to juggle."
Andria Jones and her team at the University of Guelph have released studies in the past about the vulnerability of farmer's mental health and found that women were scoring higher in stress, depression, anxiety and burn out.
"Even with supportive partners, the management of the household often falls to them, so all of that combined with on farm work, off-farm work, plus being the chief executive officers of the household makes for very full days and a lot of stress."
Kristin Wheatcroft, director of Agriculture Wellness Ontario, said her organization regularly hears from women who are balancing not only farm operations and work, but family responsibilities, off-farm employment and the weight of supporting those around them.
"Acknowledging these challenges is an important step toward fostering healthier, more supportive farm families, workplaces and rural communities," Wheatcroft said.
It's especially important to address the mental health of female farmers as the number of women choosing careers in agriculture continues to grow.
And while there has been some progress made to recognize women for their roles in Canadian agriculture, there's still more to do, Jones said.
"We still have a ways to go. Presently, women make up 30 per cent of the Canadian farming population and I'm not entirely sure we see that reflected in things like leadership positions," she said.
