The Manitoba Farmer Wellness Program fills a need

Mar 29, 2023

The month of March has marked a significant milestone for the Manitoba Farmer Wellness Program.

Gerry Friesen, the chief administrative officer says the program which provides free mental health support for farmers and their families has now been operating for a year.

He says it's a free confidential process and setting up an appointment is very simple.

"People just need to go to our website (https://manitobafarmerwellness.ca) and they can book an appointment. So it's only the counselor and themselves that know what's going on."

Friesen says over the last year they've had overwhelming support from partners with the program and overtime have seen a significant demand for the service.

"We know that in our health care system these days particularly in mental health there can be some atrocious wait times. We wanted to make sure that we had flexibility in our programs so that people could get on relatively quickly and also could be accommodated evenings and weekends."

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Border View Farms is a mid-sized family farm that sits on the Ohio-Michigan border. My name is Nathan. I make and edit all of the videos posted here. I farm with my dad, Mark and uncle, Phil. Our part-time employee, Brock, also helps with the filming. 1980 was our first year in Waldron where our main farm is now. Since then we have grown the operation from just a couple hundred acres to over 3,000. Watch my 500th video for a history of our farm I filmed with my dad.

I started making these videos in the fall of 2019 as a way to help show what I do on a daily basis as a farmer. Agriculture is different from any other industry and I believe the more people that are showing their small piece of agriculture, helps to build our story. We face unique challenges and stressful situations but have some of the most rewarding payoffs in the end. I get to spend everyday doing what I love, raising my kids on the farm, and trying to push our farm to be better every year. I hope that I can address questions or concerns that you might have about farms and agriculture.