Farm and Ranch Family Stress and Depression: A Checklist and Guide for Making Referrals

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The last few years have been difficult for farm and ranch families. Many are experiencing financial and emotional stress as a result. There are several signs or symptoms when a farm family may be in need of help. These are signs that can be observed by friends, extended family members, neighbors, milk haulers, veterinarians, clergy persons, school personnel, or health and human services workers.

When family members, friends or neighbors are exhibiting signs of stress and depression, it is important they be connected with help as soon as possible. All cries for help should be taken seriously.

AG LEGACY can help…
Check the AG LEGACY Materials tab at AGLEGACY.org

Are you Communicating with the Next Generation?

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Communication
The foundations for solid communication skills include: questioning, listening, explaining, and reflecting. Barriers to good communication can be either physical or emotional.

Conflicts
All family businesses experience conflict, some basic approaches to resolve conflict include: work it out, mediation, arbitration, and separation.

Resolving Conflict
Conflict is natural, often arising from different beliefs, experiences, and values. Seven steps adults to resolve conflict are: treat the other person with respect, confront the problem, define the conflict, communicate understanding, explore alternative solutions, agree on the most workable solution, and evaluate after time.

Forgiveness
Where conflicts are not resolved there are two choices: hold it against the others or forgiveness.

Family Communication
Family council meetings, family business meetings, and a family code of conduct can help family members better-communicate.

Family Business Success
Successful family businesses are based on teamwork. Common attributes of teams include: commitment, cooperation, and contribution.

Learning to Relax

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Roger holds down a job in town to supplement income from the family ranch. He is up before everyone else in the house on most days, and his schedule and lack of adequate sleep often have him feeling as if he does morning chores in a stupor. Although he is able to recognize stress signals, Roger sometimes feels powerless to address them. “There just isn’t any extra time in my day,” he says.

Practicing relaxation may seem too time-consuming or even like a waste of time for many ranchers and farmers. But in the overall scheme of things, the benefits will make you more effective throughout each day.

AG LEGACY can help…
Check the AG LEGACY Materials tab at AGLEGACY.org

Identifying Stress on the Ranch and Farm

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Rushing to town to buy spare parts, watching hay supplies dwindle during an unusually cold winter, helping a heifer live through a complicated birth—these images of agricultural life can be as familiar to producers as those of joyful times on the family land. That said, it may be hard to imagine the need for a resource that helps to identify and control stress on the ranch or farm. For many agricultural producers, however, these and other situations are so much a part of routine living that they are not readily identified as stressful.

Simply hiding the effects of stress is not always the best choice. It is much healthier to identify stress and find constructive ways to deal with it.

AG LEGACY can help…
Check the AG LEGACY Materials tab at AGLEGACY.org

How are you Communicating?

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* How well do you handle communication?
* Do you experience conflict? What about?
* What is your strategy for resolving conflict?
* Ever consider forgiveness as a strategy?
* How healthy is your family communication?
* Have you discussed family business success? With who?

FOR ANSWERS:
to these questions and much more see our recent newsletter and online module covering: How are you Communicating with the Next Generation? at AGLEGACY.org

The Importance of a Healthy Attitude

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The image of the solid and steady agricultural producer is so familiar that it may even be considered a symbol of the West. One animal is sick, and disease may be spreading; cattle prices are falling just as it is time to ship; a storm front is moving toward the property—but this producer can handle it. It is “just part of the agricultural way of life.”

But what happens when life’s circumstances interfere with the image presented to the rest of the world?

AG LEGACY can help…
Check the AG LEGACY Materials tab at AGLEGACY.org

Are You Mentoring the Next Generation?

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Formalized Mentoring Program:
* Identify the purpose
* Determine the format
* Brainstorm potential activities
* Create a structure
* Define success
* Commit to the mentoring relationship

Mentor/Mentee Relationship:
Mentor: should be willing to share advice but also act as a sounding board
Mentee: must be willing to interact openly and honestly, ask questions, accept responsibility, and learn from mistakes

What Does Success Look Like?
Both the mentor and the mentee should outline and determine what indicates success in the mentoring process for themselves