Attempting to Handle Stress

Photo Provided by Becky Nelson
None of us are immune to stress. We have endured plenty of it at the farm the last few years, with the Covid pandemic changing the way we offered our services and recent inflation on the cost of all goods and services we use making it necessary to tighten our belts and carefully inspect everything to do with the business. Dry weather has made it difficult to grow some of our crops. High heat and dry weather have damaged some of our crops and made for fewer bales of hay in the barn, fewer crops in the cooler and fewer dollars in the till. Lots of big decisions have been made on the fly, and planning for an uncertain future has been difficult…actually adding to the stress. We are not alone, with all farms and businesses checking and rechecking their business plans and planning for tough times.

As mentioned, none of us are immune to stress. In our personal lives, family matters, work matters, local, national and world incidents and politics, all can and do lead to stress in our lives. We need to pay attention to our stress and try to mitigate it whenever and wherever possible in order to survive in any meaningful way. Stress can affect our physical well being and most assuredly our mental stability.

Looking out the window at a foggy world this morning, I can see a stressed maple tree at the end of the field in front of the house. This tree has been showing its colors for more than two weeks, with beautiful oranges and reds visible at the crown. It is early for the brilliant color change expected in the fall, and it is obvious that this tree is showing some stress, whether lack of water, insect pressure or disease I don’t know, just that it is suffering. I have read that maples often shut off chlorophyll production in the outer leaves of the tree, conserving energy for the leaves inside when stressed, leading to the premature foliage turn. It is difficult for trees to recover from stress, though they do everything in their power to protect themselves.

We have noted heat stress in our tomato production, as well. Unable to keep up with the normal transpiration, they lost more water than they were able to process during the last heat waves, resulting in stunted plant growth and crisp, burned edges of leaves. Stress. The tomato plants may not recover. Stress can kill.

We have been experiencing increased pest activity in the crops, not so much from insects or diseases, but from animals. Our squash and bean crops have been hammered by deer. Our corn crops have been hammered by a plethora of critters…gray squirrels, racoons, bear, crows, blackbirds and bears. Already a bit stunted by lack of rain, the corn crop has been a bust so far. I think the animals are feeling the stress, as well, with the blackberry crop small and passing quickly in the heat and other food sources failing to thrive enough to support the wild populations.

How we handle stress can make the all the difference in our lives. Like the maple trees, we need to shut things off that are making the stress worse…shed some of those outer leaves so we can preserve the core. Shut off the news. Make some business cuts to preserve the bigger enterprise. Conserve your dollars and cut out some of the extras in the budget. Take some time to reset your mind and your spirit and work toward better days. Take time to think and plan and most importantly, enjoy your family and friends to share the stress and mitigate the painful moments.

Becky Nelson is owner of Beaver Pond Farm in Newport, eighth generation in a multi-generational farm that was established in 1780. She can be reached at [email protected].