Farmers dealing with chronic stress now have 24-hour national crisis line

You can find a variety of things on a New Brunswick farm: potatoes, cows and a tractor, for instance — and more stress than you might think.

A recently launched crisis line aimed at Canadian farmers is a much-needed resource, according to a New Brunswick group. 

Anxiety, depression and chronic stress are just some of the things farmers are experiencing, Victoria Hutt, the mental health and farm safety co-ordinator with the Agriculture Alliance of New Brunswick, said.

"A little bit of stress is fine and often it pushes us, you know, not all stress is bad," said Hutt, who works with Farm Talk Care, a farmer wellness and peer support program.

"But farmers are operating under chronic stress, and … it is impacting their health, it's impacting their mental health, and it's impacting their day to day ... relationships and work."

A group called the Canadian Centre for Agricultural Wellbeing recently launched a 24/7 National Farmer Crisis Line, which Hutt said is operated by professionals specifically trained in farm stress.

They can provide immediate help by offering coping strategies, one-off counselling sessions or just listening — all at no charge.