Lisa McLean’s article investigated mental health in ag community
By Diego Flammini
News Reporter
Farms.com
A feature on mental health in Ontario’s agricultural community has earned a national journalism award for its author.
Lisa McLean’s Improving Mental Health on the Farm appeared in the April 2017 edition of Better Farming.
Her story garnered her the gold Dick Beamish Award for press feature writing from the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation. The announcement came at the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation annual conference in Quebec City on Saturday evening.
The story features insight from Dr. Andria Jones-Bitton, a researcher in the Department of Population Medicine at the University of Guelph, as well as members of the ag community who are battling mental health issues.
And McLean credits the interviewees and their courage with the story’s success.
“Mental health is a tough issue to write about and I wasn’t sure if I was going to get people to speak with me,” she told Farms.com yesterday.
“I was honoured that they trusted me with their stories and that Better Farming allowed me to publish their stories anonymously.”
The issue of mental health within the agricultural community has received attention this year.
Throughout the country, many farmers and agricultural organizations have dedicated time to communicate about mental health.
And during her research for the story, McLean learned that mental health is as unique as the person it’s affecting.
“The thing I felt that was important to address in the story is the different ways people come at mental health and the need for support,” she said.
“Some have had conditions for a long time, some simply caved to the stress, and there’s no shame in that. It was nice to learn the different ways people come at this issue.”
One important element surrounding mental health is the impact of the stigma attached to it.
A survey conducted by Jones-Bitton earlier in the year concluded that many farmers need and want mental health support resources, but are concerned about what other around them might think.
McLean hopes reading the story and continuing to talk about mental health will help reduce the stigma around the issue.
“Farmers are problem-solvers and don’t like to talk about things that are bothering them,” she said.
“I think it’s important that we take away the stigma and hopefully (readers) understand that mental health awareness is more common than people think.”
McLean’s story also helps Better Farming continue its role as a trusted source of information and insight, according to Better Farming publisher and editorial director, Paul Nolan.
“The award comes at a time when Better Farming’s editorial content is receiving more recognition than ever,” he said yesterday. “We are pleased that the mental health feature story has received this honour, and we’re very excited for Lisa, as she’s worked above-and-beyond as a writer, on this feature and on others.
“We value Lisa’s talent and insight so much, and appreciate that her work stems from a commitment to her craft and to her community.”
And tackling complex issues like mental health means readers can have confidence in the magazine, its staff and content.
“The issue of mental health is real and it is not going away, and it affects almost every farm family we serve,” said Nolan.
“We need to talk about it. We need to be open and honest and supportive as a community. Communication and education are key, and we will continue to do whatever we can to support issues that affect our ag audience.
“Beyond that, we take our role seriously as ‘trusted source’ for Ontario’s farmers.
“Andrea Gal, our managing editor, is committed to addressing issues that are important to our readers. Bringing this story to our ag audience is both a privilege and a responsibility.”
Note: Lisa's story begins on page 12 of the embedded magazine.