When the love of farming isn’t enough: Chronic stress triggering mental health conditions

This article was first published in Progressive Dairy magazine.

In 2022, Sam Rossier of Sunday Bell Farm in Danville, Vermont, realized what he mistook as burnout was actually depression. Photo courtesy of Sam Rossier.

Being a farmer isn’t just a job. It’s an identity and a lifelong love. Even when stressors like natural disasters, labor shortages, and shrinking profits continue to pile up, farmers push on. The possibility of doing anything else seems unimaginable…