Farming is a noble and essential occupation, a profoundly spiritual way of life.
Ag Behavioral Health
Excellent Joy: Fishing, Farming, Hunting and Psychology
Michael R. Rosmann
Release date: July 2011
Ice Cube Press
Part lessons from the field and part wisdom from the vantage point of a psychologist, parent, and outdoorsman – Excellent Joy is a celebration of life through observations of important and subtle nuances about agriculture and its related endeavors: fishing and hunting. It also explains the psychology of why people engage in these aspirations and recreations.
Nicely stored in our basic genetic material is information that has survival value for the human species: attractions to fishing, farming, hunting, and managing these basic urges most productively. After all, those who lacked these adaptations succumbed in the competition for life. This book honors endeavors that yield food, clothing, and shelter, as well as the excellent joy of these pursuits, through the unique insights of a farmer/psychologist who has devoted his life to improving the understanding of the behavior of farm people. The author indulges readers with ample humor and wonderful exuberance in his explanations and stories.
Excellent Joy received the Silver 2011 Book of the Year Award in the nature category from Foreward Reviews.
Meditations on Farming: The Agrarian Drive, Stress, and Mental Health
Michael R. Rosmann
Release Date: November 2024
Purdue University Press
Unlike any other territorial species, humans have evolved to become agrarians. The unique drive of farmers to cultivate crops and undertake animal husbandry, their tenacious attachment to the land, and their stoic self-reliance are beneficial, but these same qualities also can lead to self-blame and heightened propensities for anxiety, depression, and suicide. Meditations on Farming celebrates nature and agriculture, while tackling a very serious subject: the mental health of food producers. In this collection of essays and stories, Rosmann—a farmer, clinical psychologist, public speaker, policy advocate, professor, and syndicated columnist—traces the development of behavioral health management and other methods for improving the well-being of agricultural producers. Sometimes tragic, often funny, and always engaging, Meditations on Farming shares the insights gained over a lifetime devoted not only to understanding farmers, but to helping and advocating for them.
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