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The two extremes: fire and drought, and floods have hit farmers hard, a coordinator at Écoute agricole says.
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Published Aug 03, 2023 • 4 minute read
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After the numerous and various bad weather events that occurred in quick succession over the past few weeks, Quebec’s harvest season might not bear the fruits that agricultural producers had hoped. It’s an additional weight on the mental health of many of them.
“The weather really wasn’t on the side of the producers,” says Hélen Bourgoin, clinical coordinator at Écoute agricole, which offers a farm worker service in the Outaouais and Laurentians.
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“In May, we had frosts and that delayed crops. Then there were the forest fires. According to farmers, the thick smoke blocked the sun’s rays, so there were plants that couldn’t grow enough. We had rain, tornadoes. Too much moisture leads to bacteria in plants. The two extremes: fire and drought, or floods.”
The weather factor, which has a huge influence on the productivity of the fields, works against agricultural producers, whose livelihood depends on the quality and quantity of what they will bring out of the ground. “It’s as if the only thing that should help them is not going well, when they are already in debt and working very long days. It’s demoralizing and they have no control over it,” Bourgoin said.
“It is the accumulation of several sources of stress and a large dose of uncertainty, almost without respite, that puts the mental health of producers to the test”, said Pierrette Desrosiers, a psychologist specializing in agriculture for more than 30 years.
Backlash expected at the end of the season
The Au Coeur des familles agricoles (ACFA) organization, which deploys farm workers in 10 administrative regions of Quebec, expects an increase in requests for psychological support in the coming months.
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“I am thinking of market gardeners, especially family farmers, who have pre-sold baskets and who cannot deliver what they promised and what they have already been paid for. It’s stressful for them not to offer what they wanted,” said Lysa-Pier Bolduc, a farm worker in the Chaudière-Appalaches region.
Generally, as producers are busy in the field, summer is a quieter season in terms of interventions, which allows workers to intensify their prevention efforts. But this year, Bolduc said, the number of requests for help has been much higher than usual.
The extent of the distress of certain producers will be measurable this fall, warned the director general of ACFA, Samuel Gosselin. “We often see the impact that certain situations have on producers because they will contact us after the season,” he said. “When they are in the present moment, they react. The adrenalin is there, they try to save the crops and reduce the impact of what is out of control. It’s when the stress drops that we get more calls.
“On the other hand, we already know that some producers will have more difficult harvests this fall, but that they do not know the extent of their losses, and others who have already lost everything.”
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Bourgoin agreed: “Right now, producers are in action and solution mode. We will see the repercussions in the fall, when they will be finished and they will realize that they need help.”
Other factors contribute to distress
Apart from bad weather, other factors weigh on the mental health of agricultural producers, who do not always point to a specific reason to explain their distress.
“In addition to the financial difficulties related to the operations of their business, producers can be affected by geopolitics,” Gosselin said. “When there are international issues such as the war in Ukraine, which has led to a decrease in Russian exports of inputs or Ukrainian grain, that has an impact for producers. It may mean that those who do not produce it themselves have to pay more to supply themselves in a context of scarcity, and it will not give them more yield or better prices for their products.”
The closure of the port of Vancouver because of a labour dispute, and China’s ban on pork imports from Canada also have consequences on the activities of Quebec farms, for example.
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Pierrette Desrosiers also noted that the producers “are human beings who have a personal life, too.”
“In addition to their work, which requires almost superhuman effort, they have a family life, they can face illness and other hardships,” she said. “It’s the accumulation of all that that breaks the camel’s back.”
Small gesture, big effect
Although there are resources to help agricultural producers, Bolduc said she believes that everyone can do their part to support the guardians of our collective pantry. Whether it’s greeting a producer on his tractor when you pass him on the road or buying fresh local produce, every gesture of recognition counts and can make a difference.
“After all, we all need to eat,” she said
“Beyond producing, we need to know that what we do is appreciated,” Desrosiers said. “A little recognition can warm the heart.”
“And let’s not forget that if we want healthy agriculture, we must have healthy producers as well.”
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