Rural Issue

Helping farmers deal with stress

Dr. Larry Tranel brings a somewhat unique perspective to the discussion about the stress that farmers are currently dealing with. Tranel is an Iowa State University Extension dairy specialist based in northeast Iowa—and he is also trained in psychology.

We spoke with Tranel at this week’s Iowa Farm Bureau annual meeting in Des Moines, where he made a presentation on “Farm Family Stress Management & Communication”. He says the level of stress on the farm is the highest he’s seen in his 30-year career.