June 3, 2004

Manage Personal Stress to Make Better Farming and Ranching Decisions

Some of the most pressing concerns faced by farmers and ranchers in agriculture today such as drought stress can elevate personal stress and disrupt sound decision making. A family science specialist at North Dakota State University urges producers and their families to think “family first” and to keep their current challenges in perspective.

“Drought stress and other sources of concern in agriculture can put persistent strain on farmers and ranchers operating in today’s agricultural economy,” says Sean Brotherson of the NDSU Extension Service. “However, what farmers and ranchers want to be careful about is letting their personal stresses pile up so that their management practices and decision making become negatively affected. When you’re under stress, you may communicate less with others, become more disjointed in your thinking and make decisions based on anxiety or anger.”

To assist individuals and families in farming or ranching to think through and make healthy personal and business decisions in times of stress, Brotherson has authored an Extension publication on making family decisions in farming and ranching. The publication outlines such strategies as clarifying values and goals, identifying available resources, evaluating costs and benefits and understanding decision making styles.

“It’s helpful to have a process to work through as you are making decisions that affect your bottom line or your family security,” Brotherson says. “This makes it possible to reduce stress and increase the quality of your decision making. This is important because your decisions affect all the operations on the farm or ranch. They also determine the quality of your personal life and family relationships.”

Some of the ideas outlined in Brotherson’s “Making Family Decisions in Farming and Ranching” include:

• Identify key values important to the well-being of you and your family, or to your farm or ranch operation. Discuss these values and then develop goals that are specific and clear that will guide your family and business decision making.
• Identify personal and interpersonal resources such as creativity or communication, which can help in your decision making. Also, identify tangible, concrete resources like capital or equipment that are important in your decisions. Seek ways to access or create these resources.
• Evaluate the costs and benefits involved in making a particular decision to each member of the family or business operation. Then evaluate costs and benefits to the couple or the family as a whole.
• Examine your decision making style and then think about what decision making process will work best for the family and the farm or ranch operation in a particular circumstance.

“Agricultural challenges like drought stress place many families in North Dakota in the position of making critical decisions about farming, financial security and family well-being,” Brotherson says. “Hopefully, this resource and other ideas can be helpful in making the best decisions possible.”

“Making Family Decisions in Farming and Ranching,” NDSU Extension publication #FS-581, can be obtained at your local Extension office or ordered by calling (701) 231-7881.

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Source: Sean Brotherson, (701) 231-6143, sbrother@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Rich Mattern, (701) 231-6136, richard.mattern@ndsu.nodak.edu

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