b'MENTAL HEALTHManaging StressDuring a PandemicHow can we come out the other side when we are in such uncertain times?The Do More Ag Foundation is providing resources and training in the ag community.THERE IS NO doubt managing your stress level can be aearly hard frosts which didnt help things. The challenge now is daunting challenge. Add in COVID-19 and its effectswhethergetting product to market, finding out where those markets are thats homeschooling kids or getting the right personaland how to we maximize all of this.protective equipment in placethere is no doubt everyone isThe Submission to the Standing Committee on Agriculture feeling the pinch. Those in the ag sector are not excluded. and Agri-Food: Strengthening Canadas Agricultural Sector The unique stresses of agriculture are not lost on industry- A Canadian Network for Farmer Mental Health (Dr. Andria normally, so add one thing on top of it and absolutely, the levelsJones-Bitton 2018) was a national survey taken across Canada. of uncertainty now on top of other levels of uncertainty canIdentified were multiple mental health complications facing cause increased stress and things like that, says Adelle Stewart,farmerssome 45 per cent of farmer respondents had high executive director of the Do More Ag Foundation. stress, and 58 per cent and 35 per cent met the classifications for In spring, some farmers had extra hands on deck for plantinganxiety and depression.with everyone working and learning virtually, not only wereAccording to the study: These results are concerning and families spending more time together, but there were extrarepresent a major risk to the Canadian agricultural sector as hands on the farm. However, for those who rely on temporarypoor mental health and well-being has negative implications foreign workers, COVID-19 brought with it another set offor the individual farmer, as well as their families, livestock, headaches as they stressed about whether their workers wouldproduction, and financial bottom lines.be able to come into Canada for work.There were very different experiences from it, StewartTalk, Listen, Asksays. Some felt it was a blessing, some felt this was a stress thatFounded in 2018, Do More Ag is a not-for-profit organization topped anything they have felt in terms of stress before.whose main focus is the mental health of those working in the In Alberta, one can only speculateas there is no hard dataCanadian agri-sector. Since launching, one of the main focuses as of yetthat both COVID-19 and the spring weather had aof the group is not only to talk about mental health, but to significant impact on the farming community.challenge people to have the words mental health roll as easily We have no hard data, Stewart says. We really rely on bootsoff their tongue as other illnesses do. on the ground but were speculating that both the weather andAt the very corewhen people ask: What can we do? We go COVID has had a significant impact. We certainly had someback to our slogan that we live by which is talk more, ask more, 36seed.ab.ca'