Rural Resilience

As any farmer or rancher can tell you, farm life can be demanding and stressful. It’s even tougher now with trade wars, natural disasters, depressed commodity prices, labor shortages and many other issues weighing heavily on the farm economy. Given these challenges, more and more farmers today are experiencing stress and mental health issues, either directly or by having a friend or family member in distress. No one is immune, as AFBF President Zippy Duvall pointed out in a recent Zipline column. And the impact creates a ripple effect in rural communities, affecting lenders, farm business advisors, field representatives, clergy, teachers and others who interact with families in stress.