008: Real Farmer Care: Permission to Pause
In this episode, Merle talks with Clara Coleman, founder of Real Farmer Care, about something most farmers struggle with: taking care of themselves. Coleman experienced burnout herself on a well-established family farm, and realized that grit and long hours weren’t enough to sustain her or the people around her.
From there, she tried something simple but powerful. She began crowdsourcing donations and sending farmers small, no-strings-attached cash for self-care.
“Use this to take care of yourself,” she’d say, mailing $100 gift cards to farmers across the continent.
Those gift cards have gone toward everything from massage and new boots, to therapy, a hammock, date nights, or even just a night off the farm.
While self-care can still feel uncomfortable or even unnecessary to some, Coleman believes that shame and stubbornness often keep people pushing until they reach a breaking point. Real Farmer Care challenges that mindset by offering farmers permission to rest—something she sees as essential if we want people to continue caring for the land and their communities.
We love hearing your ideas, your comments, and your stories. Get in touch with Merle by sending your e-mail or audio message to feedback@domore.ag.
We’ve included the full transcript below.
Podcast Transcript: Real Farmer Care: Permission to Pause
Merle Massie 0:01
Hello, I'm Merle Massie. On this episode of Hay Are We Okay? I bet you know a farmer who works sun up to sun down and beyond, who puts their land first, their animals first, their crops first, their customers first, never really themselves first.
Clara Coleman 0:26
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to escape the constant weight of potential burnout the requirements of, you know, my body and my time and my efforts were so great that I couldn't seem to balance. You know that work life balance that we always talk about.
Merle Massie 0:43
Permission to take a moment for yourself that's ahead with real farmer care. I'm Merle Massie, Executive Director of the do more agriculture Foundation, we're a national charity in Canada that cultivates a culture of mental well being within Canadian farming communities. And I'm a farmer, so I know what it looks like when farms come first and we farmers put ourselves last on the list of things that we look after. And you know what that might be backwards.
Clara Coleman grew up on a farm in Maine. Then she went to college. She did sea kayak tours, she skied in Colorado. She farmed in Colorado. She even sold real estate. 10 years ago, she and her sons moved back to Maine, back to the family farm, and today, Clara Coleman is part of four seasons farms back in 2020 Clara was also the woman who started something called real farmer care. The idea is to give farmers a little money and permission to do some self care. Clara Coleman, welcome to the hay Are we okay podca st.
Clara Coleman 2:15
Thank you so much, Merle. It's a pleasure to be here.
Merle Massie 2:18
I'm delighted to have you. And you know, as as we were taking a look at who we wanted to bring in for season one, I have a colleague who works with us here at the do more agriculture Foundation, and she said right away, oh, we need to talk to Clara. Clara has this cool thing that she has done, and so we've been waiting. You're the final episode of our season, and I'm so excited that you were able to join us. Thanks again.
Clara Coleman 2:44
No, thank you. I It's, it's really wonderful to be here. And I'm, you know, just so impressed by what you know Canada and your foundation has done to help farmers. Because obviously, as you probably know, this work is so needed and so underserved,
Merle Massie 3:03
it absolutely is okay, and that's actually where we're going to start. So Clara, there's those two little words that you use, self care. And a lot of our listeners, they could be rolling their eyes, going, oh gosh, self care, you know, bubble baths and massages and yoga, whatever. Why do we people in rural communities in general, but maybe farmers in particular feel so allergic to self care?
Clara Coleman 3:32
Good question. I think the reason that I have landed on this term, you know, it obviously has a mixed bag, and I have noticed that sometimes I have to use the word well being as opposed to self care, because that seems to resonate with more people. But the way I look at self care is, in part, it is a reflection of my own journey as a farmer. And I recognised that if I am responsible for caring for the land and caring for communities and caring for animals. I also have to receive an equal amount of care for myself, and whether that is me proactively doing it as self care is, or it's receiving it from organisations or other people, that's really what this is all about.
Merle Massie 4:20
I think that that that resonates really, really strongly with me, and I know that. So I live and farm in rural Western Canada, and we don't necessarily call it self care, but one of the things that happens is that some of the businesses that we work with, you know, we might get a meal in the field across harvest, or maybe they'll, you know, show up with pizza during spring seeding. Or they'll, or they'll, you know, make sure that we get a gift basket at Christmas time. And these are all really helpful things, but this is a little bit different, and I'd like to go back to your starting point. You started real farmer care, as I understand, as a New Year's resolution in 2020 and that was About four years or so after you went back and moved back to the farm in Maine, take us back to that new year's resolution. What was happening in your life at that point?
Clara Coleman 5:09
Yes, so I had moved back to my family farm, to farm with my father, Elliot Coleman, in 2016. And this was sort of a long returning, so to speak, to my family farm. I had spent a number of years in Colorado, and I had started a farm, a four season type of farm, called divide Creek Farm in the Rocky Mountains. And so, you know, when I moved back, I knew that eventually I would have to return to my family farm, and I was excited to do that because I was an opportunity to farm with my father. It was also a chance to give my boys, you know, experience growing up on the farm. But one of the things that I noticed in those first four years is that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to escape the constant weight of potential burnout. And so I was always, you know, sort of dumbfounded by that, because I'm, like, I have this, you know, incredible infrastructure, family legacy, all of this supposed support, but the requirements of, you know, my body and my time and my efforts were so great that I couldn't seem to balance, you know, that work life balance that we always talk about. So my New Year's resolution was, well, if I can, you know, I'm assuming other farmers are probably experiencing this too. If I can help other farmers, then maybe I can also help myself. So that was sort of this idea of, like, how can I be of service to other farmers? And so it started as a crowdfunding campaign. It was really just sort of this idea of like, okay, if I could raise some money and send it directly to farmers and say, hey, you know, use this towards any self care activity you're choosing, and send me a photo and a few sentences about what farmer self care means to you, and then recommend the next farmer. And then maybe we could sort of expand this across the country, which I have now, there's over 600 farmer recipients representing 45 states, and you know, they've all received about $100 to put towards an activity of their choosing. But I also want to make one clear point about self care too, is that it's not up to me, and it's never been up to me to dictate what self care looks like to a farmer. So this is really about giving permission, and it's about how to mitigate the three biggest barriers to practising farmer self care, which are time, money and stigma, judgement. So this is really about like, you know, if I can remove the money piece and maybe change the stigma and the judgement around it, then maybe more farmers can actually receive this kind of care.
Merle Massie 7:44
That was such a rich explanation. There's so many different ways that we're going to go with that. I want to start with, what does $100, what does that gift card really do in terms of helping a farmer? What does it do? That permission piece?
Clara Coleman 8:01
Yeah, well, I mean, again, the amount of money is not great, but it is this moment that they can pause to say, what is it right now, if I could choose any activity to give to myself, what would that look like? So, you know, it can look like any number of different things, but I think by giving a farmer that pause in that moment to say, What could this look like? What do I need right now that is the biggest benefit. And you know, it can look like getting a massage, going for a chiropractor appointment. It can look like getting a gym membership and, you know, trying to sort of increase their fitness and flexibility, or a yoga class, or it can look like scheduling a therapy session to talk about challenging life stressors that you know we all have when we're farming. And then even beyond that, it can be this like, broader community piece of like, can I gather with other farmers and connect and feel less alone in this work and in my struggles? Or can I get off the farm, for instance, just for a night. Go, go, have a dinner with my family, connect like do all of the things that we as farmers know are the reasons why we're doing this work, but we don't get to appreciate and enjoy as much ourselves.
Merle Massie 9:15
I absolutely love this. So you had your New Year's resolution. You put a post out, you started a GoFundMe page, and then you watched it really take off. What was happening? How did this idea take off? Why did this idea take off the way that it did?
Clara Coleman 9:33
Yeah, I think it took off because, first of all, it was so desperately needed, and so few people were talking about this and finding ways to actually take action, and how can we actually give you the support that you need? So it was just the simplicity of the idea. It was the for a farmer to be able to receive that support, and then also pay it forward by recommending another farmer. There was a beauty in that process as well. And then once you start recommending another farmer, it just grows exponentially, like there's nothing really I have to do other than receiving the requests and figuring out, how do I allocate the limited funds that I have to these farmers. But yeah, it just spoke to a real just this need about care, about receiving care. And if we as farmers are expected to care deeply for this land, to be these public servants in so many ways, you know, to care for land that's going to be around for generations and improve it, then we have to, as human beings, receive the same type of care, otherwise, this work is unsustainable. So that was really the overarching message of all of this, is like receiving care so that we can continue to care for the land.
Merle Massie 10:56
I think that that's brilliant. I have a slightly different question. In all of the applications that you've had and you shared, there's been about 600 across 45 states. So we're going to hit 50 states here fairly soon. I'm looking forward to that and and hearing your report on that. Do any stand out?
Clara Coleman 11:17
Oh, man, there's too many to mention, of course, but one of the early recipients that I recall, you know, kind of in the first few months, in 2020, and this actually, you know, was right before the pandemic, because I started it right before the pandemic. So there was quickly, like over 60 recipients within the first few weeks. But one that stuck, stuck with me is she wanted to use the $100 to buy a hammock so that she could set it up just outside, you know, in her yard, so that she could be reminded to, at the end of a work day, go lie down in her hammock and look out across the fields of all the work that she had accomplished, and just take it in, like to her that was self care, that was just taking that moment to pause, to appreciate the beauty that she had created, the land that she was tending and just to take it in. So that one, I think I will always remember.
Merle Massie 12:22
That is an amazing story. Thank you so much.
Where did you first know that you were tapping into something bigger than maybe you thought?
So much, so much to go into here. Tell us about the application process. How does a farmer apply? What does that look like? And on the back end, what are the criteria that you are looking at as you assess these applications?
Clara Coleman 14:54
Yeah, I mean, it's, you know, anyone is deserving of self care. So obviously, I'm not really, you know, super particular. It's more about the funds available. Are the, you know, do I have enough funding to be able to to award these farmers? So the demand, obviously, is greater than the funding. So, but the funding is coming in slowly. You know, the more grants I apply for and the more that funders are really starting to understand the intersection between, like, caring for land and caring for people, and how you can't have one without the other. So that that has helped. But yeah, the, you know, there's been, I am fiscally sponsored by American Farmland Trust, so that has been a huge both a partnership and a financial piece that has helped real farmer care grow, because it's really just been me over the last six years, and then having the sort of back end support of my fiscal sponsor at American Farmland Trust, which has been fantastic. And they are also a national organisation here in the US, so there's a lot of collaboration and reach that they can have and help me with. But yeah, we go through sort of seasonal cycles with an online application. This year alone, it's paused at the moment because we're actually phasing out the $100 self care award and bringing in a $200 self care award, because obviously inflation and, you know, cost of living and services, so, so sort of phasing in that. But also I'm trying to create even larger stipends in like, the 500 to $1,000 range, so that a farmer could actually receive ongoing support through a season. So for instance, if they wanted to get, you know, 10 therapy sessions, for instance, at $100 a piece, you know, they actually can have the continuity of care, which is really important. And then I'm also working on creating, you know, sort of four day restorative Healing Retreats for farmers to attend in collaborating with a somatic therapist. So we can actually create a container in space where farmers actually get to just talk about everything that goes on and the kind of care that they need, and create sort of a restorative environment for them to receive that care .
Merle Massie 17:04
Those are all really brilliant ideas. Have you done any work to sort of create a list of what people have put their money towards, and what are some of those more typical buckets where people tend to spend their real farmer care dollars?
Clara Coleman 17:19
Yeah, it's sort of these four categories that have that I have sort of extracted from the responses of these over 600 you know, Farmer recipients, and they, I kind of have broken them down into farmer fitness care, which is, again, like a gym membership, a yoga class, a dance class, some sort of movement that is fitness related that? Because, again, if our bodies as farmers are our primary tool, we obviously need to take care of them. So if we can sort of have a continuous way to build in that strength and that flexibility, you know, that is sort of one category, and then the other category on the other side would be the body repair care, because this work is constantly breaking down our bodies, like, what are the you know, what is the care that we can do that isn't typically part of our health insurance system that we can't access easily, like a massage, a therapeutic massage, like chiropractic care, like acupuncture, you know, even just basic physical therapy, there's, there's a lot of these modalities that, again, feel sort of frivolous or, you know, difficult to afford. And then there's the mental support care piece, anything that helps to people to process difficult life stressors from a mental health perspective, mindfulness practice, you know, any of the things that really help people sort of remain grounded. And then the fourth would be the sort of community care piece, which is like gatherings, get togethers, or even just like getting off the farm and taking time to, you know, recuperate off the
Merle Massie 18:55
I just want to recapture those so building your physical health, recuperating if your physical health is in trouble, working on your mental health, and then community care, so yep. I'm more okay. I love that those four buckets. I think that we'll be able to really, you know, emphasise that. I think that that's fantastic.
Clara Coleman 19:13
Yeah. And also, just to add to like within those things like, those are sort of relatively inexpensive ongoing, you know, care that we don't typically prioritise as farmers, but have been shown to be so vitally important to our physical, emotional, you know, mental, spiritual, well being. So it's really about, how do we practice those and build habits out of those? But again, like the financial piece is difficult, it's often hard to prioritise that. So real farmer care is really trying to show up to address that.
Merle Massie 19:47
I love that. One of the things that you said is that you were looking at creating a bit of a weekend, a weekend space and a weekend place away. It takes me back in my mind to our episode two, which was on three oaks cabin in Ontario in Canada, and that is created as as a contemplative space, you know, for someone who's in in farming that can get away for a weekend, you know, for three days. To this beautiful space, they're wrapped in some added layers of mental health care, and it gives them a bit of a quiet time to reflect and and sort of shore themselves up and move forward. And so it just as you said, that I'm like, Yes, we have examples of how those things work and why they matter so much so.
Clara Coleman 20:30
Yeah, and again, like, none of this is complicated. It's it's, this is all very simple, you know, sort of, but it's difficult in our hustle culture, in, you know, sort of the pick yourself up by your bootstrap, sort of mentality that so many farmers stick and then, and also, just like the older generations that you can't, you know, like showing your emotion represents weakness somehow, you know, but, but the consequences of that, as we all know, are, are horrible, absolutely horrible, You know, if it leads to to suicide, for instance, like no one wants that, you know, to be the case. So, so I've always been very clear that real farmer care is not crisis care management. This is preventative. It's like, Let's prevent farmers from even getting to that place in the first place. And you have to build in practices in order to do that. So, you know, with the farmers being so isolated, it's just so hard to be able to access this type of support.
Merle Massie 21:28
Tell me about how setting up and watching real farmer care grow being so intimately involved in that, how has it helped you?
Clara Coleman 21:39
Oh, good question, for sure. I mean, I really, I, you know, am someone who really values integrity, and I feel that if I'm not doing my own work, if I'm not engaged with looking at my own life and my own work balance, then obviously I can't talk about this and and share it with with farmers. So I really try to, you know, reflect about my own journey with farming and where I failed and, you know, and where I really could have done a much better job. And I also ask a lot of questions to farmers to make sure I'm really understanding where they're coming from. Because, obviously, the demographic of farmers is so wide. Most of the work I do really resonates more with the younger generation farmer, you know, with someone who, sort of, you know, more women farmers, for instance, that kind of understand this. But there is, like, a whole demographic that really, you know, this makes them feel uncomfortable. And I obviously want I'm curious. I try to be curious of like, you know, what then, what could support look like to you? I mean, it's really that question, that fundamental question, what does care and support look like to you as a farmer, that is the question that is so rarely asked, and I think is so vitally important. So I asked myself that first, and then I ask and then I ask others.
Merle Massie 23:03
I think that that's brilliant, because you're right, you know, it's not one of those things that we as farmers, you know, remember to prioritise. And so this allows you to think about that and put your money where your mouth is. If the old saying works, in this particular case, I love that you make a concerted effort to give at least half of those gift cards to Black or Indigenous farmers or farmers of colour.
Clara Coleman 23:24
Yes. And and also LGBTQ, plus, you know, farmers as well. So.
Merle Massie 23:29
absolutely
Clara Coleman 23:30
yes,
Merle Massie 23:31
Please tell us why.
Clara Coleman 23:32
Well, obviously farmers of colour, you know, queer farmers, have always been underserved, and the cards are stacked so much more against them than a typical white farmer. So I really want to help level that playing field. I want to make sure that their voice is heard, so that their experiences are heard and understood, because they're going to be different experiences, and, you know, be able to access the type of support and care that they need is going to be harder. So i i I just want to make sure that that that care is really directed at the people that really need it the most.
Merle Massie 24:06
I think that that's brilliant. It's it's one of those things that we don't always think about, and yet it does matter. The research is so clear, right? You know, on so many different areas, the care and support that's required when you belong to any of these communities that you identify, it's different. And so we want to make sure that we're asking starting with that question, what do you need? What would help you exactly? And it's that all encompassing, very large scale question that can allow them to bring in exactly what they do need.
Clara Coleman 24:35
Yeah, yeah. And if it comes down to, you know, like basic needs is really what their self care looks like, then that's that's both telling information and a real issue. Because, like, how is farming going to be sustainable if you can barely, you know, cover your basic needs, right? So, yeah, no, it is actually what.
Merle Massie 25:00
What's your optimism level? This is just a general question beyond real farmer care. You've been listening to farmers from across as you said, 45 states have applied to and won and won these, these awards, these permission awards, I'm going to call them that, to go and look after themselves. What's your optimism level in terms of farming?
Clara Coleman 25:22
Yeah, I mean, I've always been an optimist. I come by it very honestly, because I grew up with a father who was always an optimist and constantly was dealing with so many barriers and so many people that told him this is not, you know, that organic farming was not possible, or that, you know, like always hitting no's and hitting judgement and stigma and so, you know, but he maintained that optimism throughout his entire career, and still does. And that is absolutely inspiring and beautiful. So of course, I am leading with that, and I know that I can't begin to solve this problem, but at least I can contribute to shifting it just a little, just a couple degrees different that over the long term is is tremendous. And if I can shift this perspective and the support and help change the conversation and also find more of the support for farmers, then I have, you know, succeeded, and I've done my job. So, you know, I am here to serve farmers and to make the world a better place for them.
Merle Massie 26:28
So I've got two particular follow up questions for that. The first one is, in the application, it looks for at least $1,000 a year from farming, as I understand it, that is a particular American threshold. You need to have $1,000 in income from farming to be declared a farmer. What does that do on your end? How did you set that? Is that what you use to set the threshold and how what's been the impact?
Clara Coleman 26:58
Yeah, I didn't initially, obviously, when I first started this, but, you know, having a fiscal sponsor and sort of trying to kind of formalise the application, obviously, I've had to sort of follow criteria to make sure, you know, the more that this is out there, and the more demand you know that is out there. I wanted to sort of just help, you know, make sure that the people who really needed it, we're going to get the support and that I wouldn't have to dig through and figure out, well, is this person actually, you know, really farming, or is this just, you know, a scam, or whatever. I mean, you just never know these days. So, so that just helps, it helps to to whittle down the interest to the people that actually are are legitimate. So, yeah.
Merle Massie 27:45
Legitimate farmers. No, that makes total sense. So it was in 2024 that the American Farmland Trust came along and said that they would become your fiscal sponsor. What has changed and what is the same?
Clara Coleman 27:57
Yeah. I mean, I, I knew. I mean, part of the reason why I haven't actually formalised as a 501-C3, here in the US, is because I've always sort of looked at, you know, you have all these nonprofits, and nonprofits are, you know, being established every day, but we have a very limited pool of funds out there, so everyone's sort of competing for this limited funding pool. So I thought to myself, well, why? Why would I just add to that stress, and why not collaborate and partner with an existing nonprofit to leverage each other's strengths? You know, AFT is an established nonprofit that has a lot of funding and resources, and I have this beautiful idea that has been formalized into a programme. So we have these two strengths, might as well work together to build it and make it even better. So for me, it's this, I really value collaboration and finding ways to work together and not being so siloed, and you know, so so that, you know that initial partnership, his is, was the foundation of this relationship. And what has changed is just the more people within aft that have now are aware of real farmer care. Now they're starting to figure out ways that we could, you know, within, like, corporate sponsorships, how could we bring real farmer cares work into, you know, a corporate sponsor for aft or, you know, communications and marketing like, how can we share these stories about these farmers? So there's just been a broadening of recognition over the last three years now that's that's helped with, with getting this workout. So
Merle Massie 29:44
I think that that's brilliant. Tell us about your communication. How do farmers find out about this?
Clara Coleman 29:50
Yeah, mostly I have relied on social media. Again, it's more of I'm than one person trying to do all this and my knowledge and resources and capacity are limited, so I really tried to go for the things that have felt like the low-hanging fruit. So mostly it's been social media. Obviously, there's a website, real farmercare.com. And then @realfarmercare on on Instagram. So usually I'll announce the next round of words when the application is open. And then, of course, you know, American Farmland Trust has been sharing some of that as well. And, yeah, and just, just, it doesn't seem like there's any lack of demand. It's more about, how can I expand all that I'm doing so that more farmers can access it?
Merle Massie 30:40
I think it's great work. Clara, any final thoughts, anything that you'd like to share with the Hay Are We Okay? audience?
Clara Coleman 30:47
Yeah, it's just great to see your foundation really focusing on this in Canada. In particular, I'm actually going to be speaking in Australia at the grounded farming conference, and in my sort of initial research, what I've noticed is like, there's a lot more, you know, resources available to farmers in Australia for well being, for mental health. And it's refreshing to see that there are, you know, other countries that are paying attention to this more and actually really putting their money into the this work. So I hope that, you know me doing this, and you know the other organisations in the US that are also involved in this, that it just continues to grow, and, you know, be inspired by the work of other countries, Canada, so.
Merle Massie 31:34
Yeah, and Australia. We had
Clara Coleman 31:35
And Australia, yeah.
Merle Massie 31:36
Yeah. We had Kendall Whyte at the Blue Tree Project on our she was episode six, and just a fabulous episode around the work that she started in Australia, and she as well, growing her thumbprint. Let's put it that way around the world, blue thumb print. Clara, thank you so much.
Clara Coleman 31:55
Thank you so much, Merle. It's been a pleasure to speak with you today.
Merle Massie 31:59
Clara Coleman is the founder of Real Farmer Care. If you'd like to donate a few dollars, I'll put the link in our episode notes. And if you or if someone you know could use some Real Farmer Care, Clara has a quick google form for you to fill out. Go to Instagram, look up real farmer care. That's where you will find the links. And we'll also make sure to drop them into the episode show notes. And for those Canadians who are listening to this because of Clara's move to the foundation, Canadian farmers no longer can access correct Clara.
Clara Coleman 32:36
Unfortunately, no. Sorry,
Merle Massie 32:38
yes, that's right. No, that's okay. The reason why we wanted to have you here is because we think this idea is so cool. We wanted to share it more broadly. And maybe there's somebody in Canada who wants to pick this up and run with it, partner with you and run with it from there.
Clara Coleman 32:54
That would be amazing. I'd be happy to, you know, offer support in any way I can.
Merle Massie 33:00
I was also curious about what it feels like to be on the receiving end of Real Farmer C are. So I went looking on the real farmer Care website. What did they ask for? What were they going to use the money for? What did they give themselves permission to do? And there are so many great examples. My two favourites were the farmers who said, You know what, we need a new pair of boots. Our boots are being held together with duct tape. And, you know, a lot of farmers out there would probably relate to that.
Clara Coleman 33:33
Yes,
Merle Massie 33:34
that came from Chad and Laurie Trigg of backwoods buffalo ranch in Alberta.
Clara Coleman 33:38
Yeah. No, I mean that boots or insoles. I mean, it's, it's funny, they're, they're so simple, but again, we forget how important these things are to the work that we're doing. So and it makes it more comfortable and feel better. So yes,
Merle Massie 33:52
overalls that fit women, work gloves that fit women,
Clara Coleman 33:55
yep,
Merle Massie 33:57
but that permission piece is huge, right? And, and it's, it's, yes, it's the money, and
Clara Coleman 34:03
Exactly, yep,
Merle Massie 34:04
it's the permission.
Clara Coleman 34:06
Yeah. And again, I think the biggest way that I've been able to mitigate that dismissal from an older generation is, well, then please tell me, what does care and support look like to you know,
Merle Massie 34:18
No, it's true.
Clara Coleman 34:19
Because, like, it's gonna be something, right? And, and if, as long as they can be open about answering that, then there are certain threads within there that I can say, like, Oh, great. Like, then, then this, this is something that I could support you with. So, yeah,
Merle Massie 34:36
Clara, thank you so much for joining us on the Hay Are We Okay podcast.
Clara Coleman 34:40
Thank you so much, Merle. I really appreciate taking this time to speak with you and yeah, share a little bit more about this work that I'm so deeply passionate about. Thank you.
Merle Massie 34:53
Another great story was simple date night giving yourself permission to go on date night. That story came from Kaitlyn and Justin Duban of Duban Farms. If you don't recognise the name Kaitlyn Duban, you might recognise her as Wild Rose Farmer and podcast host for The Rural Woman podcast, check it out.
a programme like this, especially real farmer care, that has received so much social support, originally through crowd funding, now being taken up by a national level foundation in the United States. What it tells me is that we've hit on a nerve, a nerve that really matters. And there's two sides to this, people want to support farmers, and so they're putting their money into that and making sure that that happens. And then there's the other side, farmers, realising that, you know what, we need care too, and we need to take those moments, take the time to look after ourselves. Having the permission and a little bit of extra cash to do that goes a long way.
[tractor] Hay Are we okay? Is brought to you by the do more agriculture Foundation, with generous support from the Agco Foundation. To learn more about what we do. Visit, do more, do Ag, and that's D, O, M, O, R, e.ag. Click the little Subscribe button. Give us a follow. And if you know someone who might enjoy this episode, text it to them. And if you feel like it, give us a review.
[Closing music] this podcast came together thanks to Lucia Stephen at the Do More Ag Foundation, Arcana Creative Jen Quesnel and Cascade Communications, and my daughter, Bronwyn Massie, who is never shy to say, 'Merle, you sound weird.'
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Clara Coleman 12:35
yeah, well, if the response by farmers and and how many they recommended as the next recipient. I mean, it just kept growing exponentially. And you know, their stories too. I mean, again, I asked, so I asked these sort of three questions, what does farmer self care look like to you? How might you use this award to meet that need? And what are your greatest needs? Because no one's asking those questions of farmers. And so it was really like, here is an opportunity for a farmer to share what actually was meaningful to them and and to actually feel like they have a voice. So you know this, this is bigger than just the actual $100 and getting that award. It's really about like, yes, how can we help shift this conversation to this care that is so desperately needed for these people who care for land.
Merle Massie 13:25
How can you tell that real farmer care is working? What are some of the things that really have stuck in your head so far?
Clara Coleman 13:33
Yeah, I mean it. I mean every I mean, I'm still intimately involved in selecting the awardees. You know, I there's an online application that they apply for. So I get to go through and select them. I I reach out to let them know that they have received the award. You know, I received their photo and their information back. I put it up on the website. So, you know, I get all this firsthand connection with these farmers, which I love, and this is why I do this. And just, you know, the response of, like, oh, like, thank you so much. You know, I have always wanted to get a massage, and, you know, like, I don't have the money to put towards that, or I don't have the ability to prioritise that. And so, like, just again, like the appreciation and the gratitude that farmers are expressing, like, of course, of course, it means so much. And this is very actionable, you know, work. This is, like, very clear, actionable work, and it's that direct, you know, resource that goes directly to the farmer that makes such a difference, and it isn't as often seen in the nonprofit world.