Weather, Workload and Money: Determining and Evaluating Sources of Stress for Farmers in Ireland

Abstract

The demands of modern farming can place substantial stress upon the farmer, adversely impacting their wellbeing. This study identifies both the prevalence of stress and assesses the demographic, farm, and social characteristics that impact the incidence of stress. We report the results of a survey of a nationally representative sample of farm enterprises in Ireland undertaken in association with the Teagasc National Farm Survey (NFS) in 2018, which saw 736 questionnaires completed by farm operators. Frequency analysis is used to report the primary sources and prevalence of stress. A probit model is developed identifying and quantifying the factors that impact the incidence of stress. There were 57% of farmers who reported experiencing stress resulting from their farm work. Key sources of stress included "poor weather", (47%), "workload" (32%) and "financial" concerns (28%). The results of the probit model establish that the effect of age on the incidence of stress is significant, positive, and non-linear, indicating as farmers get older they are more likely to experience stress but at a declining rate. Operating a sheep farm system, as opposed to any other type of farm system, reduces the probability of stress. Working off-farm also reduces the probability of stress by 0.097, other things being equal. The findings highlight variance in the levels of stress reported by farmers by age and farm system, and consequently, the need to develop targeted supports that take consideration of differences within the population of farmers and farm enterprises.

Pandemic distress on the farm: Farmers concerned about emotional impacts of COVID-19.

“…Although loneliness has been described as an important stressor in past literature (Basey et al, 2021; Brennan et al, 2022), our study indicates that married farmers, who may be concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on spouses and/or children and who may also be concerned about their ability to provide for their family, were more likely to express concern about the emotional impact of COVID-19 than nonmarried farmers. Those concerned about contracting COVID-19 were also more likely to be very concerned about COVID-19’s emotional impact—a finding that supports recent literature identifying health as a significant stressor for farmers (Scheyett, 2020).…”

“…Although loneliness has been described as an important stressor in past literature (Basey et al, 2021;Brennan et al, 2022), our study indicates that married farmers, who may be concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on spouses and/or children and who may also be concerned about their ability to provide for their family, were more likely This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.…”

“…Stressors most frequently identified by farmers often include areas of uncertainty—weather and increasing weather uncertainties due to climate change, unstable financial conditions for factors such as input costs and commodity prices, and the varying impacts of tariffs and policy changes. In addition, loneliness, isolation, and high rates of injury have been identified as stressors ( Basey et al, 2021; Brennan et al, 2022; Scheyett, 2020). Additional factors associated specifically with farmer suicide include health problems and relational losses (Scheyett et al, 2019).…”

Well-being at work and Finnish dairy farmers─from job demands and loneliness towards burnout

“…Recent studies support the importance and timeliness of the job demands and lack of resource investigated in our study. For instance, workload has been found to be an important source of stress among Irish farm enterprises ( Bondy and Cole, 2019 ), and a risk factor for mental health among US small farm producers ( Brennan et al, 2021 ). In addition, as regards social relationships and loneliness, lack of support and experiences of isolation were identified as stressors among Canadian ecological farmers ( Brigance et al, 2018 ).…”

Autopercepción del Nivel de vida en los asociados a gremios agrícolas en Tungurahua, Ecuador

“…En términos generales, los agricultores llevan un estilo de vida poco saludable en comparación a otros miembros de la población en general (Yazd et al, 2019), lo que los convierte en un grupo de personas muy susceptibles a experimentar altos niveles de estrés y bajos niveles de bienestar debido a factores que no están relacionados con sus conocimientos y habilidades (Ceballos & Nopal, 2021;Cuthbertson et al, 2020). Es así como, bajo presión financiera, adversidad climática, sobrecarga de RELIGACION Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades trabajo, y las continuas variaciones de precios de sus productos, los agricultores son vulnerables a padecer de estrés, ansiedad, depresión, y en casos más críticos, se han observado suicidios (Brennan et al, 2022;Cuthbertson et al, 2020;Deegan & Dunne, 2022). Estas afirmaciones son similares a los resultados encontrados en el presente estudio, que indican que, las afectaciones en la salud mental de los agricultores tungurahuenses se produjeron por factores externos, y que desencadenaron similares factores de riesgo social como el estrés, ansiedad, depresión, y trastorno obsesivo-compulsivo en los últimos 12 meses.…”