COVID: Farm Stress
Farming can be stressful in the best of times. Financial worries, unpredictable weather, unpredictable commodity prices, plant pests, livestock diseases and isolation all contribute to farmers’ anxiety. And now Iowa’s rural communities and families are coping with the unpredictability and imposed isolation produced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In response to this additional stress, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, in collaboration with COVID Recovery Iowa, will offer eight online “Stress on the Farm: Strategies That Help” programs beginning Monday, July 13, said David Brown, behavioral health specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.