The phrase “mental health” is becoming more talked about in the agriculture industry, but it’s still a subject that often leads to feelings of discomfort and embarrassment.

In my 30-plus years of working with farm families, the negative effects of farm distress on behavioral well-being and brain health have become quite apparent.

It’s no surprise that farmers’ behavioral health is positively correlated with crop production and healthy animals.

Many articles have been published recently that address the impacts of stress on dairy producers as they face challenges related to increasing input costs, greater government regulations, labor issues and more.

We are all familiar with the common stressors in agriculture. It’s easy to point to price swings, government regulations, land competition, weather and disease when we talk about stress on the farm.

A new tool for ranchers could be a game-changer when preconditioning calves.