Ambiguous Loss and Agriculture - Ag Economics and Producers with Extension Educator Glennis McClure - full interview

Linda Reddish Author

09/29/2023 Added

3 Plays

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Glennis, full interview with Ambiguous Loss project

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[00:00:00.472](gentle music)
[00:00:07.170]Hi, I'm John Fech with Nebraska Extension,
[00:00:09.720]and welcome to this video on ambiguous Loss.
[00:00:12.720]Joining me here in the studio is Glennis McClure,
[00:00:15.630]Extension Agricultural Economist.
[00:00:18.570]Glennis, when an agricultural producer
[00:00:20.670]experiences ambiguous loss, how does that affect them?
[00:00:25.530]Well, ambiguous loss is often
[00:00:27.810]when there's like a big change that occurs,
[00:00:30.870]or it's pending and it's not always expected.
[00:00:33.630]It's not always welcome,
[00:00:35.070]and it's a loss that's often not well-defined.
[00:00:38.190]And I think back to examples throughout my career
[00:00:41.190]in working with egg producers,
[00:00:42.990]especially even going back to the farm crisis of the 80s.
[00:00:46.680]I was a farm business consultant for Extension at that time
[00:00:50.010]and I served 60 farm families in Southeast Nebraska.
[00:00:53.430]And during the farm crisis then,
[00:00:55.500]there were a lot of farm families that were faced
[00:00:57.690]with financial crisis, financial challenges, actually.
[00:01:01.560]Many had to downsize
[00:01:03.390]and reconfigure the scope of their business
[00:01:06.090]in order to keep their land to continue operating.
[00:01:09.300]So, there were many farm sales.
[00:01:10.890]Some sold part, and some sold everything,
[00:01:14.280]and it often meant that they were no longer farming
[00:01:17.370]or they couldn't rely on their ag income
[00:01:20.460]to provide enough income to provide a living,
[00:01:22.650]so a lot of times folks would take jobs away from the farm,
[00:01:26.280]like either the farmer or their spouse would do that.
[00:01:30.300]So it was a big change, you know, for the families.
[00:01:33.600]And so I would say that shift oftentimes
[00:01:37.260]from being a full-time farmer to a part-time farmer
[00:01:40.260]or none at all, is really a good example of ambiguous loss.
[00:01:44.100]So, and also we see this now,
[00:01:45.780]in times of disaster and drought,
[00:01:49.080]where we've seen some operations sell part of their cow herd
[00:01:52.620]or all of their cow herd.
[00:01:53.760]That's a big change for a lot of folks,
[00:01:57.000]and right now we're kind of experiencing that
[00:01:59.220]with a lack of hay or feed and the expense
[00:02:02.070]of feeding the animals.
[00:02:05.010]So, as folks are forced to downsize
[00:02:08.490]or sell or transition out of a business,
[00:02:10.830]it can mean a change of their identity.
[00:02:13.470]So they were a farmer, they were a rancher,
[00:02:16.560]they were a cattleman, and all of a sudden,
[00:02:18.870]they might just be out of that business,
[00:02:20.610]and so that's huge.
[00:02:22.380]And according to ambiguous loss research,
[00:02:26.220]this can be a great time of ambiguity
[00:02:29.010]and cause grief to stagnate or become frozen.
[00:02:33.810]So simply, this type of grief
[00:02:35.790]is when someone has the inability to move on
[00:02:39.300]and life going forward can seem uncertain,
[00:02:41.610]which makes decision making abilities hard and complicated.
[00:02:47.130]Well, and you've described some pretty good examples there
[00:02:50.850]of those changes that occur,
[00:02:52.590]especially during the farm crisis,
[00:02:54.600]and I think a lot of us can relate to that.
[00:02:56.850]Is it common then for all of those feelings and emotions
[00:03:00.330]to spill over and influence how the family functions?
[00:03:04.080]Yeah, most certainly.
[00:03:05.670]It can mean that mom and dad
[00:03:07.290]are no longer doing what they've always done
[00:03:09.180]and the children are seeing this huge change.
[00:03:12.120]And so, if the operation was downsized or interrupted
[00:03:16.350]by some type of disaster or this financial crisis,
[00:03:20.370]it can mean basically less money for family living,
[00:03:22.890]which means they're not doing the same kinds of things
[00:03:25.770]that they've always done
[00:03:27.030]and the family sense of consistency is disrupted.
[00:03:30.420]So it also might mean that time as a family
[00:03:34.470]is spent differently.
[00:03:35.430]Let's say they're always used
[00:03:36.600]to doing the cattle drive every year,
[00:03:40.050]and all of a sudden they may not be a part of that.
[00:03:42.630]Traditions in families are really, really important,
[00:03:45.720]and, again, this can be a whole disruption.
[00:03:49.020]So, and it can be really for all of them involved,
[00:03:52.770]a huge sense of loss, really.
[00:03:54.960]So, additionally the family may,
[00:03:57.660]their routines can be changed
[00:04:00.210]and it really can cause a lot of stress.
[00:04:02.280]So it's important to note that family stress
[00:04:05.280]is common in times of ambiguous loss.
[00:04:08.910]Well, in terms of stress,
[00:04:10.020]what are some of the warning signs that you might see
[00:04:13.110]when a producer is struggling with ambiguous loss?
[00:04:16.140]Well, I think it's a period of uncertainty,
[00:04:18.300]and the hopelessness can linger on.
[00:04:21.750]And, like, we might struggle to move forward
[00:04:24.150]or they might struggle to move forward.
[00:04:26.100]And making decisions can continue to be hard,
[00:04:29.520]and as noted earlier, grief can be become frozen.
[00:04:33.900]Okay, well that's good.
[00:04:35.670]Now, kind of one final thing here is getting help.
[00:04:38.790]So, when you see that maybe from one spouse to the other,
[00:04:42.120]one family member to the other,
[00:04:44.280]what should you do when you see that?
[00:04:46.680]Well, it's really okay to ask for help.
[00:04:49.950]I think that's really an important message
[00:04:51.690]that folks should hear, is that it can be,
[00:04:53.700]that help can come from family members or friends,
[00:04:56.910]it can come from the community resources,
[00:04:59.550]like different support groups, perhaps.
[00:05:02.490]Even mental health professionals,
[00:05:04.140]we can seek help from them,
[00:05:05.790]or our faith community can be a great help.
[00:05:08.520]So making these connections allows the families,
[00:05:12.240]the individuals within the family or the families themselves
[00:05:15.420]to reevaluate their situation and can provide them a way
[00:05:19.230]to create a different meaning,
[00:05:21.000]a meaning from their ambiguous loss.
[00:05:23.640]So ultimately, it's beneficial for persons
[00:05:27.960]that are experiencing ambiguous loss
[00:05:29.820]to change their perspective
[00:05:32.040]so they can reshape their identity
[00:05:34.740]or narrative for themselves or their family
[00:05:37.560]and to help them move forward.
[00:05:38.910]That's kind of the thing, is let's try to move forward
[00:05:41.010]and sort of build back some resiliency
[00:05:44.070]as their life goes on.
[00:05:45.750]Well, thank you, Glennis. Lots of good content there.
[00:05:48.510]And thank you for watching this video.
[00:05:50.850]Now, for help with other parts of ambiguous loss,
[00:05:53.910]click on the other videos found on this webpage.
[00:05:56.611](gentle music)

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Ambiguous Loss and Agriculture - Ag Economics and Producers with Extension Educator Glennis McClure - full interview

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