Every day, the Farm Aid Hotline Team supports farmers navigating chronic or acutely stressful circumstances, such as weather and market disasters, conflicts about farm succession, or legal challenges to their livelihood. With nearly 40 years of experience working with farmers, our goal is to connect them with helpful services, resources, and opportunities specific to their individual needs. This article combines the hotline’s observations with others’ expertise on the intersection of farm stress and natural disasters.
When disasters occur, farmers risk losing not only property and crops but also their livelihoods and family farm legacies. It’s entirely natural that stress accompanies this aftermath. Stress is embedded in our biology as a response to a perceived threat. While small amounts of stress can galvanize us to action, too much stress can be paralyzing.
The catastrophic nature of disasters sets off a stress reaction that makes it difficult to see a way forward. Unrelenting stress impairs our ability to concentrate, make decisions, judge wisely, and initiate contact with others. It’s not difficult to fall into a pattern where decisions made under stress create more stress, triggering a harmful cycle.
Fortunately, there are ways to interrupt the stress cycle before it escalates. One of the most effective insulators is strong relationships. The value of friends, fellow farmers, and family cannot be overstated, especially during challenging times. That sense of community supplies productive space to exchange information, empathize, decompress, brainstorm, and simply “chew the fat,” something we have been prewired to do since our hunter-gatherer days. In our modern world, finding community takes more effort (and social media doesn’t fully count), but it’s well worth it.
Fortunately, support also tends to materialize following a disaster as folks pull together to help. Tough times often bring out the best in people, especially at the local level. Be sure to cultivate those relationships and pursue a range of coping strategies that effectively alleviate your stress. The more buffers you have in place, the more resilient you will be in the face of a crisis.
Finally, the line between stress and grief is thinner than a blade of grass. For anyone who has suffered a loss, you know firsthand that grief has its own timeline. Be vigilant about issues that may emerge months later. Be patient with yourself as you grasp your new reality and embark on your disaster recovery journey.
For further assistance, see Farm Aid’s Farmer Services Resources:
Farm Aid Hotline, 1.800.FARMAID (1.800.327.6243). Our Hotline Team is available from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET Monday through Friday; our Spanish Hotline is available from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET Monday through Friday.
Farm Aid Farm Stress Resource Guide
Farm Aid Farmer Resource Network (FRN): Farm Aid’s clearinghouse of organizations, programs, courses, and publications is available in both English and Spanish. The FRN also includes national and state-based free farm stress counseling programs, as they are available. See North Carolina Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network program as an example.
Lori Mercer joined the Farm Aid staff in 2021 as a Hotline Operator. After a decades-long career in private practice audiology, she attended Washington State University and received an MS in Agriculture with a focus in food systems and agroecology. She’s also worked with local family farmers in the agriculturally rich valleys surrounding the Seattle area.