Wellness Check-In Challenge
Wellness Check-In Challenge To the extent that any farmer or rancher has a “quiet” season, winter is it. There is still plenty of work to do, certainly. However, winter, with its frozen fields and short days marks one of the more reflective times of year. A season to take what rest we can get and gather ourselves before the next busy season begins. Now, with winter ending, we here at AgWell are offering a simple challenge to all our farmers and ranchers: before you leap into the spring take five minutes to do an honest wellness check. We’ve created a simple one for you, here. Read through each category, answering the questions honestly in your head. Then, rank yourself on a scale of 1 (terrible) to 5 (excellent.) Physical Wellness: How are you feeling physically, today? Does any body part hurt? Are you having trouble completing any tasks? When was…
Mindful Mondays
The little things? The little moments? They aren’t little. Jon Kabat-Zinn How often do you find yourself saying the word “busy?” As in, “Man, things are really busy right now.” Or, “I’ll take care of that project when it’s a little less busy.” How about, “I’d love to make it, but things are so busy at the moment.” Or, perhaps, you simply wake up in the morning with that to-do list racing around your head and just feel in your stomach that things are going to be busy. Busyness in itself is not inherently bad. In the agricultural world, it’s often simply the way of life. There has been a meme circulating the internet world that kind of summarizes ag life in a nutshell: And that, there, is the inherent danger of busyness: that we rush and run and work our way right through life, without stopping to take note…
Summer Sanity
Summer Sanity – Managing Stress During the Busy Season When do you go into overdrive? Is it when you first roll out of bed, with that to-do list in your head, already knowing there aren’t enough hours in the day? Or is your overdrive in the evening, when you should be wrapping up, but realize that you still have so much to do? The goats need to be milked, the greens beds weeded. The chickens are out of feed and their coop is overdue for a clean-out. Or maybe the center pivot isn’t working right, you’re supposed to be cultivating fields, but you’re also behind on fertilizing and the tractor still needs its “regularly scheduled” maintenance that never seems to be as regular as it should be. Or, maybe, the cows got out (again!) resulting in an unscheduled wild goose (ahem – wild bovine) chase when actually, really, you needed…
May Mental Health Resource Round-Up!
May Mental Health Resource Round-Up! May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and as a group focused on well-being, including most certainly (and importantly!) mental health, we thought we’d make a shortlist of resources and recommendations relating to mental health and agriculture. While some of these are specific to the Rocky Mountain region that we serve via the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, many are national, some are international and some are available to anyone and everyone via the amazing miracle of the interwebs! Check them out. Click on a few links. Watch a few videos. Pass them on to someone who needs them. Connect in person, connect virtually, help us build a community of people who care! Crisis Helplines and Resources for Tough Times Are you in crisis now, or are you concerned that someone you know is? You are not alone! We have sourced free, reputable crisis hotlines available for…
For Yourself: A mini-challenge
It’s spring! It’s planting season, it’s calving season, it’s a busy time for farms and ranches. While we might be coming out of the winter months feeling rested and recharged, spring is a good moment to pause and plan for this year’s busy season before it gets overwhelming. It’s an excellent time to set priorities and routines and make them habits before the full chaos of summer hits. This spring, we’re encouraging you to begin the season thinking about YOURSELF. As the old adage goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup. How can you plan now to keep your cup full through the busiest months of the year? Over the next twelve days, we’re challenging you to take some small steps to care for yourself. We’ve compiled a bunch of easy-to-execute ideas, we’ll throw out one a day on social media, we’ve got the whole bunch listed for you here,…
Why AgWell
Why AgWell? “As long as there are a few farmers out there, we’ll keep fighting for them.” — Willie Nelson. America’s farmers, ranchers, and agricultural workers are under an increasing amount of stress. Agriculture has never been an easy profession. Always subject to forces beyond a farmer’s control, Mother Nature may take a season’s crop just days before harvest, or drought may force an unwanted culling of ranchers’ cattle. Commodity prices dictate profit and loss, and unexpected swings in the market can make or break a year’s worth of work and investment. Agriculture is a sun-up to sun-down affair. There are no sick days, no snow days, no spur-of-the-moment family vacations in the summer. As many agricultural workers are self-employed or working on family farms, there are also no benefits, no leave time, and no pension plans. Over the last few years, the always-difficult situation for farmers and ranchers has…
