Farming is an extremely demanding job whose success depends largely on the dedication of the farmers. In order to tackle the rigorous tasks of the trade, farmers must be in good physical and mental condition. The University of Guelph conducted a study in 2017/18 which showed that Canadian farmers experienced higher levels of anxiety and depression and displayed lower levels of help-seeking behaviour compared to the general Canadian populace. The study indicated that Canadian farmers were at a heightened risk of suicide compared to the rest of the population. The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) also recently sponsored research on the stress level of Canadian farmers. Western Opinion Research Inc. conducted the research study, which was completed by 1,100 farmers across Canada. The survey asked farmers to rate their stress level, ranging from “stressed” to “somewhat stressed” to “very stressed.” The results varied and revealed the following: two-thirds of farmers indicated feeling “stressed,” 45% indicated feeling “somewhat stressed,” and one in five indicated feeling “very stressed.” The results of the survey also revealed that the major causes of stress among farmers were (a) financial concerns related to prices of commodities, (b) diseases affecting livestock, (c) finances regarding general farm expenses. The results also revealed that a large percentage of farmers (35%) were interested in having access to more stress-related resources in order to help alleviate their stress level. This study allowed CASA to realize that stress within the farming industry is a major issue, therefore making it imperative to take action and offer stress counselling resources to farmers. These resources include (a) Confidential meeting with a health care professional, (b) Over-the-phone consultation with a health care professional, (c) Attending workshops such as retreats that focus on relaxation techniques and role playing with other farmers. Over the last few years, CASA has made great progress to help reduce the stress level of Canadian farmers. For example, successful counselling services that deal with farmers and their problems were established using phone, email, and online chat help lines. These the Saskatchewan Farm Stress Line. These services are well recognized and are having great success in helping farmers, mainly because they are staffed by paid professional counsellors who all have farming backgrounds, making the farmers feel more comfortable because they are connecting with someone who understands their work-related issues.

Discussion

Think of the market research that was conducted by CASA.

1. What are some of the populations that CASA might have been interested in measuring for these studies? Did CASA attempt to contact entire populations? What samples were taken? In light of these two questions, how was the inferential process used by CASA in its market research? Can you think of any descriptive statistics that might have been used by CASA in its decision-making process?

2. In the various market research efforts made by CASA to determine stress experienced by farmers, some of the possible measurements appear in the following list. Categorize these by level of data. Think of some other measurements that CASA analysts might have taken to help them in this research effort and categorize them by level of data.

a. Ranking of the level of stress on a stress test

b. Number of farmers that ask for professional help

c. Number of farmers that are aware of professional help resources

d. Number of farmers that try to manage stress on their own

e. Number of farmers that are interested in having access to more stress-related resources

f. Number of farmers that are close to being out of business

g. Number of farmers that would prefer dealing with stress on their own

h. Number of farmers that would prefer dealing with stress with a professional over the telephone

i. Number of farmers that would prefer dealing with stress with a professional in person

j. Age of survey respondent

k. Gender of survey respondent

l. Geographical region of survey respondent

m. Amount of time farmers spend dealing with their stress

n. Rating of the most stress-related factors on a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is the least stress-related factor and 10 is the most stress-related factor

o. Rating of the reasons why farmers do not seek more help for stress on a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is the least important reason and 10 is the most important reason.