Harvest can bring about a mix of emotions- some feel excitement as they bring high yields in from the fields, others are met with disappointment as their expectations may not have been reached. Josie Rudolphi with the University of Illinois says even during harvest, it is important to consider mental health.
“We know that people are working very hard right now. We know that this weather has been such that we’re not taking a lot of breaks; we’re not getting days off, we’re not getting rain days. I talked to somebody over the weekend who said they have worked every single day of harvest since September. 9th or 13th, which is a really long time to go, go, go, go. And that takes a toll on our mental health, it’s obviously fatiguing.” says Rudolphi. “We look at prices, we may not be super optimistic about the farm finances moving into winter. So we really encourage people to not only think about safety but think about their mental health.”
The University of Illinois Extension has resources available for mental health on its website.
