Dr. Val FarmerDr.Val
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Rural Mental Health & Family Relationships

Reasons Why Farmers Whine So Much

August 17, 2009

Have you wondered why farmers and ranchers whine and complain so much? Even when they are well off, some feel unjustly treated, deprived and angry.

Farmers and ranchers have a unique profession. Their "small" business requires large investments in land, time and machinery. Heavy operating expenses are usually borrowed annually.

Farmers have little control over the price of their products. Add to that intruding government involvement, regulations and international trade policy. High stress and lack of control coupled with dependence on the weather makes farming a high risk profession. It’s something akin to gambling.

What puts a farmer into a negative frame of mind?

Dependency. Dependency upon others is often hidden because farmers independently manage their own operations. During times of crisis - bad weather, low prices or a poor farm economy - no matter what their management style or how resourceful they are, they can't independently solve their problems.

Farmers need their lender, the government and their supplier to work with them to get through a crisis. With dependency and lack of control comes resentment - a "hostile dependency" that bites the hand that feeds it.

Some 20 to 30 percent of farm families struggle to make ends meet. The bottom 10 percent are under incredible stress, fighting to stay in a profession, a community and a lifestyle they love.

Workaholism. Some farmers adopt a workaholic, perfectionist orientation to their work. They hurry so much and work so hard that they find it easy to feel victimized and unrewarded when things go wrong. The sheer stress of doing too much so well takes its toll on the thinking and spirit of the driven workaholic.

Cultural separation. Farmers are physically and culturally separated from urban and suburban communities. They interact with their small town "country cousins" and regional trade center communities. The difference in lifestyle creates tension. Farm work is need driven and doesn’t match up well with a 9 to 5 working society that has weekends off and is more consumption and leisure oriented.

Rural myths. Rural people enjoy an agrarian and small town ideology that implies they have a superior lifestyle. They see themselves as more virtuous, hard working, caring, and principled than their urban counterparts. This ideology sustains them in a chosen lifestyle that has its drawbacks and downside.

This powerful ideology also has a daunting reality. Rural communities face a declining rural economy, an aging population, the loss of youth, the attrition of farmers and farm families and the shrinking and consolidation of Main Street, schools and churches. It is a theme of loss and shrinking hope for themselves and their children who hope to stay.

Hidden successes. Farmers understate and hide their success from neighbors because they don’t want to create jealousy, envy or appear boastful. They feel good about their lifestyle and position in agriculture even when

they feel they can’t be open about it.

Talking about unfairness and problems is the acceptable "party" line. The social conversation at the local coffee shop turns to injustice and wrongs that rural people routinely face. Some of the negativity is real and some is for show.

Comparisons with urban and suburban lifestyles. Farmers underestimate the amount of work, stress and commitment of others in our competitive society. They don't understand how most urban and suburban families live paycheck to paycheck, have debts and are one pink slip away from disaster.

Most farmers are wealthier, have more bonafide assets and are better off than their urban counterparts. "Victim" thinking comes easy when led by media images of urban wealth or social disintegration.

The way to avoid stereotypes is for urban and rural people to meet, get to know each another and find out how similar they are. Times of low economic stress are opportune for building bridges of understanding. During times of economic threat, each side polarizes and views the other as the enemy and "undeserving."

Victim thinking. The farmer with a victim mentality compares himself with others who are "undeserving," "abuse power" and "get away" with things he has learned to control or deny in himself. These others include politicians, multinational corporations, corporate farming, tax laws, lenders, the urban rich or the urban poor - in general, all those who work "less" and get "more."

This thinking has been recently reinforced by the economic mess created by Wall Street financial houses and unscrupulous mortgage lenders who rewarded themselves with obscene bonuses.

Many farmers see themselves as a part of a beleaguered minority. They see themselves as deprived. They experience anger, bitterness, hurt, worry, helplessness and discouragement. They adopt a suffering mentality. They choose to suffer and take on negative emotions unnecessarily.

Are farmers really victims? In some sense they are. As to lifestyle, actual wealth and working in a profession they love, they are not. They do lack power over key factors and can feel misunderstood and unappreciated.

A person can be in a minority and not adopt a victim mentality. They choose hope, enjoyment, enthusiasm, optimism and exercise the power to act and control what they can instead of letting anger and hostility permeate their well-being. These people count their blessings and don’t make comparisons that deflate their spirit.