A farmer and well-being professional advises how to manage winter farming stress

For those of us in dairy, calving starts soon, while for many of our friends and colleagues, lambing is not too far away.

Today in farming well-being matters more than ever, and with the stress that the calving and lambing seasons bring, now is the time to organise yourself. Putting in the preparation ahead of time will ensure you ride through the pressure in better shape.

Analysing well-being, it derives from adaptability, community and personal care. During the challenges ahead you want to go into the season healthy, motivated and focused to come out the other side with a sense of achievement. However, it can be all too easy to become fatigued, anxious and exhausted at this time of year.

Ahead of the pressure period, spend the next few weeks getting a break from the farm, connecting socially, and sorting your diet. Calving and lambing can be really hard: long hours, physically challenging, with the possibility of inclement weather, or worse. Don’t expect yourself to do anything extra during calving or lambing. Instead get yourself in the best shape  to prepare for it. 

As a general rule, focusing on what you can control will enhance your well-being. Individual lifestyle factors and social and community networks are usually within your control, they might include:

• Making sure you have plenty of healthy meals in the freezer to minimise the effort of putting dinner on the table after a long day.
• Spending time off the farm: remember that there is a bigger world out there, interacting with people who are not farmers should help provide you with a positive perspective on your own situation.
• Finding other farmers you can share time or check in with. When people are facing the same challenges as you, leaning on each other, sharing the successes or complaining to them about whatever is bugging you can be a useful pressure valve.
• Establishing good sleeping patterns. Although some people hate to be told this, a good night’s sleep is critical to promote your well-being. Going into the calving or lambing season on the back of decent sleep should help keep you positive on the way through it.
• Eating well. Anyone who is farming knows that physical and emotional health depend on good nutrition, definitely for your stock, even more so for yourself. 

As you start calving or lambing, it would pay to reflect on your triggers and tools. Knowing them will help keep everything in proportion. Certain things trigger us into a downward spiral and a negative mindset, while other things are tools to pull us up or emotionally revive us. We are each unique in our triggers and tools. 

Ahead of the seasonal  pressure, get clear on what are the main triggers that get you down, and what are the key tools that make you happy; avoid the triggers, seek out and focus on the tools and you will improve your chances of making it to the other end of a busy season with your well-being intact, and a sense of achievement under your belt.

With a background in psychology and physiology, Dana Carver is a senior research manager for Scarlatti, where she designs and evaluates well-being programmes. Her work also spans extension programme design and strategy facilitation. Her farming background includes a previous role focused on wellbeing and wellness at Dairy NZ, and equity manager of a 3300 cow dairy farm in Canterbury with her husband Tony.