# Navigating Mental Health in Today's Agricultural Climate with Colleen Stegenga

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Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/impact-farming-334285/navigating-mental-health-in-today-s-agricultural-climate-with-colleen-stegenga.md
Podcast: [Impact Farming](https://stenobird.com/podcast/impact-farming-334285)
Published: 2026-02-18T20:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://impactfarming.libsyn.com/navigating-mental-health-in-todays-agricultural-climate-with-colleen-stegenga
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/impactfarming/Navigating_Mental_Health_in_Todays_Agricultural_Climate_with_Colleen_Stegenga.m4a?dest-id=729499
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Duration seconds: 3946

## Resource

Agriculture has always required resilience — but today's producers are navigating unprecedented levels of uncertainty. Inflation pressures, volatile commodity markets, tariffs, succession stress, and rising input costs are creating a heavy emotional load across farm families. In this powerful and deeply needed conversation, we sit down with Colleen Stegenga of Embracing Change Counseling to talk openly about mental health in agriculture. Colleen shares her background, her connection to farming, and how she found her calling in mental health support. Together, we unpack the difference between normal stress and mental health concerns, how to recognize warning signs, when to seek help, and how to start difficult conversations. We also go deeper — addressing stigma in rural communities, suicide awareness, emergency situations, and the resources available to producers and their families. This episode is honest, compassionate, and essential listening for anyone in agriculture. About Our Guest Colleen Stegenga is a mental health professional and founder of Embracing Change Counseling. With a deep understanding of both rural life and emotional wellbeing, Colleen works closely with individuals and families navigating stress, transition, anxiety, grief, and crisis. Her passion lies in supporting farming communities with practical tools, compassionate guidance, and real conversations that break down stigma and isolation. In This Episode, We Discuss: * Colleen's background and journey into mental health and agriculture * The current mental health landscape in farming communities * Financial stress, commodity volatility, inflation, and external pressures * The difference between mental health and mental illness * How to distinguish normal stress from deeper mental health concerns *…

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## Transcript

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