Extraordinary Stressors
Extraordinary stressors are those demands and changes that become crises and put farm businesses and farm families at risk. Extraordinary stressors are beyond an individual’s control. They are disruptors. They include downturns in the agricultural economy (Dudensing et al., 2017); increasing weather uncertainties (Swayne, 2018); labor shortages (USDA Economic Research Service (ERS), 2019); trade and market uncertainties (Co Bank, 2019); and, in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic. These disruptors produce a lack of consistent farm income for many farm businesses and families and a lack of access to food for community members. One study found evidence of post-traumatic stress syndrome after a damaging weather event (Kearney et al., 2014). Studies have documented that ordinary and extraordinary stressors are risks with which farmers, farm families, and the farming workforce must cope. They are dynamic, disruptive, and destructive forces that affect health, vitality, and viability of farms, farm families, and farming communities.
This 11-minute video features the experience of a third-generation farmer near Camilla, Georgia, prior to, during, and after Hurricane Michael in 2018. Worsham Farms grew and produced over 1,500 acres of sweet corn, 1,200 acres of peanuts, and 2,500 acres of pecans — with trees over 100 years old. The farmer talks about the challenge of starting over and rebuilding in the face of massive destruction.
VIDEO
Site: https://agamerica.com/videos/hurricane- michael-impacts-farmers/
Video: https://youtu.be/zT0oAp60gns
Extraordinary stressors produce a lack of consistent farm income for many farm businesses and families. They also produce distress among the farming population. When stress piles up, the ability to make sound decisions, adopt agricultural best practices and take appropriate action decreases (Burnett, 2014). Family dynamics are affected (Hirsch & Cukrowicz, 2014), and illness and injury increase (Jadhav et al., 2015; Simpson et al., 2004) along with feelings of despair (Freeman et al., 2008). The farm, and the people who farm, become at risk. The extent and duration of the extraordinary stressors, when combined with the stress of the constancy of ordinary responsibilities, can threaten even thriving and stable farm enterprises and farm families. Research has documented ties between the pile-up of ordinary and extraordinary stress and chronic health problems, the use of substances to alleviate pain or numb feeling, and even suicide (Fraser et al., 2005; Dudensing et al., 2017). Medical research has found that chronic psychological distress is associated not only with poor mental health but also with the body losing its ability to regulate the inflammatory response, which can lead to illness and the progression of diseases (Carnegie Mellon University, 2012). Nearly two-thirds of farmers — even young farmers — in one study reported pre-existing conditions (Inwood et al., 2018).
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