How farm couples can stay happy working together

May 19, 2020

As reducing the spread of COVID-19 has closed offices and workers are set-up at home, people are now experiencing something many farmers already do – work alongside a spouse. But farmers, just like everyone else, can easily overlook marital health, which may need some maintenance.

“One thing we don’t list on our balance sheet is health and the health of our relationships,” says Sean Brotherson, a professor and extension family science specialist from North Dakota State University. “It’s a low-cost but high-value priority.”

If a relationship turns sour, there’s a significant risk of a negative impact on the success of your farm business. However, the average couple waits six years before seeking counselling, says Merel Voth, a British Columbia counsellor and partner in a goat dairy with her husband, Barrie.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.