Middle Aged Farmer Perspectives on Farm Stress

Abstract

This qualitative study explores how middle-aged farmers (ages 35 to 50) perceive and respond to farm stress, economic risk, and transition planning across four U.S. States: Alabama, Kansas, Montana, and North Carolina. By using semi-structured interviews with 57 farmers, the research investigates how producers define farming as a lifestyle, business, or both, and how these definitions of farming affect decision making. The findings reveal that weather, financial stress, work-life balance, human and social risks are deeply interwoven stressors. Coping strategies ranged from self-reliance and faith to informal and peer support networks. Transition planning emerged as a significant challenge, often caused by communication barriers, expectations, and generational tensions. Despite recognizing the importance of transition planning, many farmers did not have a formalized plan. By focusing on the perceptions and experiences of medium to large-scale producers, this study contributes insight into the factors that influence middle-aged ag producers as they make farm management decisions and may inform future policy and initiatives aimed at sustaining this vital sector of agriculture.