The Water Table Podcast

Emily Krekelberg grew up with a daily reminder of just how much farm safety matters. More than 50 years ago, her father lost his leg in an auger accident on the family’s dairy farm. Although Emily hadn’t been born when it happened, this family history influences her and informs the work she does, to this day.

During Emily’s graduate studies in agriculture education, she began to integrate health and safety messaging into her outreach. Now she’s the Extension Educator for Farm Safety and Health with University of Minnesota Extension, and she’s built a career on a simple idea: mental health is a safety issue too.

Emily joins Jamie Duininck to talk about why farm culture makes it so hard to ask for help, how stress and fatigue affect the split-second decisions farmers make every day, and why something as small as asking, “How are you, really?” can open a door. From financial pressures to the isolation of the job itself, she breaks down why farm stress builds, and offers realistic, one-thing-at-a-time ways to take care of yourself this harvest season.

This episode contains content about mental health conditions that may be distressing. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the National 988 Crisis Line. Or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.

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