Rooted in Resilience: Strengthening Farm Families for the Future

Resilient farm families are dynamic, drawing strength from relationships, knowledge, and experience. Resilient farm families are also able to withstand adversity and rebuild stronger together. And while it is difficult to face every challenge with equal resiliency, there are proven strategies to help you prepare for those challenges in a healthy and productive way.

Identifying Our Challenges

Challenges on the farm take many forms. Sometimes they are personal, sometimes social, and sometimes community-based. Many times, they revolve around questions of financial stability and land stewardship (both of which are vital for farm families). Often, they lie in how deeply the health of the farm business is intertwined with the physical and mental well-being of family members. Regardless of the source of the challenges, though, true resilience requires that we adapt to our challenges rather than ignore or avoid them.

What Do the Experts Say?

According to Brennan et al. (2021), issues such as mental and physical illness, an aging farmer population, shrinking rural communities, and growing social isolation significantly influence how well farm families cope and thrive.

When stress inside or outside of our control is not addressed, the impacts can be severe—ranging from poor decision-making and substance misuse to delayed health care and even the loss of the family farm (Braun & Pippidis, 2020). Is it any wonder, then, that the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention reports that male farmers, ranchers, and agricultural managers have experienced a suicide rate of 47.9 per 100,000, which is higher than the overall male working population rate of 32.0 per 100,000 (Sussell et al., 2023).

But there is good news in the research, as well. According to Zieminski & Friedman (2023), when farm succession planning, access to health care, ongoing skill development, financial literacy, and maintenance of strong support systems are supported (especially by communities and policymakers), farm families are better equipped to handle adversity, support one another, and maintain their farms across generations.

What Can You Do?

So, how can you cultivate resilience in your life and that of your family? The good news is that resiliency is a skill that can be learned and developed over time. Resilient individuals and families have inner reserves to bounce back from adversity. Consider resiliency like a piggy bank. If you are able to develop (and deposit) resilient behaviors and thought processes over time, when a particularly stressful situation develops, you can withdraw what you need without "breaking the bank." Some experts refer to this as your resiliency tool kit.

Military OneSource (n.d.) offers a variety of resources for developing relationships to support resilience, including their webpage "Strengthen Family Bonds." On the farm, these relationships include those with spouses, children, and employees. Off the farm, the partnerships extend to those with financial advisors, lenders, crop consultants, suppliers, Extension educators, and neighbors. Maintaining healthy and collaborative relationships within these networks ensures that farm families have emotional and practical support to draw on during both good times and bad.

Here are some concrete ways you can foster individual resiliency:

• Set goals: Break large tasks into manageable steps. Direction builds motivation and resilience.
• Create a tool kit of self-care practices: Include music, movement, art, nature, reading, writing, or connecting with someone.
• Seek additional resources: Programs offered through Extension and other organizations help families build skills needed to cope with stress, navigate uncertainty, and foster emotional and relational well-being.

Developing Resilience for the Whole Family

As you might expect, resilience among family members is developed in much the same way as individual resilience. Concepts such as open communication, a shared purpose, positive outlooks, and connections to the broader community help bring families closer together. For children in particular, consistent routines and continuing family traditions help create a sense of stability and predictability. Promoting emotional well-being is essential.

Here are some concrete ways you can foster resiliency within your family:

• Schedule quality family time: Things like family meals, game nights, or walks together give you uninterrupted time together.
• Use challenges as teachable moments: If something bad happens, approach your response as an opportunity to reflect and problem-solve together.
• Model healthy coping skills: If children see you taking a break, taking deep breaths, moving, or journaling, they are more likely to do so themselves.
• Celebrate small things, be grateful, and reframe your negative thoughts.

By investing in well-being, relationships, and the ability to adapt, farm families position themselves to weather challenges and thrive well into the future while influencing the health of communities, economies, food systems, and a secure agricultural future.

References

Braun, B., & Pippidis, M. (2020). Building farm and farm family resilience: An Extension programming resource. University of Maryland Extension.

Brennan, M. A., Flint, C. G., & Luloff, A. E. (2021). The importance of community in rural resilience. Journal of Rural Studies, 82, 328–338.

Military OneSource. (n.d.). Building strong family relationships.

Sussell, A., Peterson, C., Li, J., Miniño, A., Scott, K. A., Stone, D. M. (2023, December 15). Suicide rates by industry and occupation – National vital statistics system, United States, 2021. MMWR: Morbidity Mortality Weekly Report, 72(50), 1346–1350.

Zieminski, A., & Friedman, D. (2023). Resilient farmers, ranchers and communities: Social sustainability in agriculture. Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education.