“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” — Robert Louis Stevenson

Farming and ranching are not just professions; they are ways of life. These professions are deeply tied to the land, to livestock, to their reaping, weeping & woes. Farmers and ranchers carry immense responsibility. Most rise before the sun, labor under the sun and do not turn in until well after the sun has set. With every changing season they confront the uncertainty of whether the seeds they plant will germinate, the early calf will survive, or the harvest they diligently worked for will yield a profit. 

They sweat day in and day out while fighting battles out of their control - droughts, floods, market swings, equipment failures, disease in crops and animals. The demanding agricultural life is relentless. These challenges become not only physically taxing but mentally and emotionally taxing as well. Long hours met with financial burdens and isolation, compound the stress farmers face. One’s mental health can quickly deteriorate under the weight of it all. 

Despite the resilience so commonly portrayed in the agricultural community, studies show farmers and ranchers are at higher risk of anxiety, depression, and even suicide compared to the general population. Is it the grueling number of hours they put in? The financial burden of spending money they might lose when it doesn’t rain or rains too much? Is it the emotional toll of losing livestock? Or not being able to pay a mortgage?

Although farmers and ranchers may seem to always have it together, it’s often hard to know what is truly going on inside their minds. Reaching out for help is often stigmatized as a sign of weakness; when in reality, it’s an act of strength. Those in the agricultural world have notoriously been known to toughen up and deal with it. Pushing through challenges that should break them apart. Getting the job done no matter what. While grit is admirable, mental health challenges do not disappear. As our nation’s farmers and ranchers take care of the land, their livestock and farm, do we stop and think – who’s taking care of them? Farmers and ranchers deserve care and attention too. 

It’s okay to say, “I’m not okay.” It does not make you less of a farmer, rancher, or person. It makes you human. Even when the fields and land might feel wide and empty, the sky might feel heavy with uncertainty, none of us are alone. There is strength in speaking up, relying on your community and asking for help when it’s needed. Your mental health matters just as much as the crops and cattle do. Take care of yourself. You cannot pour from an empty cup, and the world needs you—healthy, strong, and supported. If you are not there to teach the next generation the love and passion of agriculture, who will? 

About the Author

Kayla W. is a Midwestern farmer, wife and mother who quit her 9-to-5 job to rediscover her passion for writing and agriculture. Since then, she’s been sharing her successes, struggles and how to balance wrangling cattle, riding horses, baling hay, raising her children, being a farmer’s wife and owning a business day by day. You can follow along with Chronicles of Kayla at www.chroniclesofkayla.com or on the following social channels.