Stress Management Tools for Agriculture

Young people & wellness: 

A former State FFA President from North Carolina, this Virginia Tech senior opens up about her battle with anxiety and depression. Sarah Thomas shares what she learned growing up with dairy cattle, what it’s like to be a young person with mental health challenges, and why medication matters. Sarah shines a light on why it’s critical for the next generation to have the tough conversations about mental health in agriculture.

 

 

Family Business Communications: 

Family can be one of the great stressors on farms and in agribusiness. How can family members do a better job of supporting each other in this challenging business environment and improve their communication? Jolene Brown, an internationally renowned speaker and farmer from Iowa, brings practical tools to reduce your family business stress from her real-life experience and consulting with hundreds of farm families.

 

 

 

Nutrition & your brain:

The importance of nutrition and our relationship with food is critical to managing stress. Kathryn Martinez is a RDN in Texas passionate about why nutrition matters in our mental and emotional well-being. She shares the science that proves why eating well can help with better decision-making, tidbits to help make great food choices even when you’re busy, and why ice cream is wonderful.

 

Stress management:       

Living in overwhelm and uncertainty? Eliz Greene is author of the new "Stress-Proof Your Life" book and shares research on chronic high stress and its resulting health consequences. This heart-attack survivor and mom of twins to bring a realistic look at combatting the paralyzing loop of anxiety that often comes with uncertainty, with ways to offset the physical impact of stress and cultivate resiliency on the farm, ranch, or in agribusiness.

 

 

 

Exercise & medication: 

This pharmacist rancher runner talks about how both medication and exercise plays an important role in managing day-to-day stress. Jason Medows has a cow-calf herd and yoga studio in Missouri, and hosts of Ag State of Mind podcast. He found exercise to be key in managing stress as an answer to improve his own mental health and highlights ways to integrate exercise in your schedule – even during calving, planting, and harvesting.