As farmers, we face challenges and feel stress every day. It is when it becomes unrelenting and overwhelming we begin to experience negative side effects. Dairy farmers are some of the smartest, most innovative, problem-solving, optimistic people in the world. It is good to take a moment to be reminded of this fact.

Editor’s note: The author, an Indiana dairy producer and freelance writer, continues her exploration of resources and methods to help dairy farmers deal with farm stress. Find a comprehensive list of programs, help lines, websites, videos and factsheets and other materials online (Farm stress: Sources and resources).

Frustration is a stressor each of us can feel from time to time, especially for those in the dairy industry. From personal and family struggles to rhetoric in our community and prices in the marketplace, there are plenty of reasons to doubt who we are and what we represent.

Editor’s note: The author, an Indiana dairy producer and freelance writer, is exploring resources and methods to help dairy farmers deal with farm stress. Visit Farm Stress: Sources and Resources to find a comprehensive list of programs, helplines, websites, videos and factsheets and other materials.