Michael Guebert of Terra Farma

The 619th recipient is Michael Guebert of Terra Farma in Corbett, OR. Michael writes:

What self-care and well-being mean to me as a farmer: “As a small scale rancher, self care and well being are critically important in order to maintain ones mental health and keep a positive outlook. Being responsible for so many lives can be rewarding when times are good, but times aren't always good. Dealing with animal health issues, increasing prices, ever-changing consumer demand, marketing, and on and on, lead to constant stresses and farmers and ranchers need better tools and support to learn to how to cope with them.”

How I might use this $100 self-care award: ”We would use this award to help fund a short getaway from the farm. We have visions of going camping or staying in a lodge somewhere, but we have not been very good at prioritizing that time away together. Having an award that was dedicated to that would certainly get us to make that a priority.” 

Most important self-care needs that contribute to my well-being as a farmer: "Self care for me means getting some stress-free time away from the farm. As a multi-species livestock producer, this is a 365-day per job, and when one’s job site is also their home, it often feels impossible to completely detach and unwind. On the rare occasions we can get some quality time off the farm, it is incredibly refreshing. Most years we get one weekend off together and have not had time away together longer than that in about 4 years. Even one additional night away from the farm would do wonders for our mental health.”

#realfarmercare