An Informal Look at Farm Stress

As a preliminary part of research to develop a scale of farm stress, interviews were conducted and information collected from 140 Manitoba farmers. The results suggest that farmers are experiencing chronically high stress intensified by perceptions of lack of control over the major stressors of government policy, weather, and market conditions. Evidence for numerous stress symptoms was noted. A consistent difference in types of stressors identified by farm men and women was observed, and the implications of these findings for stress-management programs with farm families ate discussed.