Globally, farmers report high levels of occupational stress. The purpose of this study was to identify and explore factors associated with perceived stress among Canadian farmers. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was used. An online cross-sectional national survey of Canadian farmers (n = 1132) was conducted in 2015–2016 to collect data on mental health, demographic, lifestyle, and farming characteristics; stress was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale. A multivariable linear regression model was used to investigate the factors associated with perceived stress score. Qualitative interviews (n = 75) were conducted in 2017–2018 with farmers and agricultural sector workers in Ontario, Canada, to explore the lived experience of stress. The qualitative interview data were analyzed via thematic analysis and then used to explain and provide depth to the quantitative results. Financial stress (highest category—a lot: (B = 2.30; CI: 1.59, 3.00)), woman gender (B = 0.55; CI: 0.12, 0.99), pig farming (B = 1.07; CI: 0.45, 1.69), and perceived lack of support from family (B = 1.18; CI: 0.39, 1.98) and industry (B = 1.15; CI: 0.16–2.14) were positively associated with higher perceived stress scores, as were depression and anxiety (as part of an interaction). Resilience had a small negative association with perceived stress (B = −0.04; CI: −0.06, −0.03). Results from the qualitative analysis showed that the uncertainty around financial stress increased perceived stress. Women farmers described the unique demands and challenges they face that contributed to their overall stress. Results from this study can inform the development of mental health resources and research aimed at decreasing stress among Canadian farmers.

Tail-biting is globally recognized as a welfare concern for commercial swine production. Substantial research has been undertaken to identify risk factors and intervention methods to decrease and understand this vice. Tail-biting appears to be multifactorial and has proven difficult to predict and control. The primary objective of the scoping review was to identify and chart all available literature on the risk factors and interventions associated with tail-biting in pigs. A secondary objective was to identify gaps in the literature and identify the relevance for a systematic review. An online literature search of four databases, encompassing English, peer-reviewed and grey literature published from 1 January 1970 to 31 May 2019, was conducted. Relevance screening and charting of included articles were performed by two independent reviewers. A total of 465 citations were returned from the search strategy. Full-text screening was conducted on 118 articles, with 18 being excluded in the final stage. Interventions, possible risk factors, as well as successful and unsuccessful outcomes were important components of the scoping review. The risk factors and interventions pertaining to tail-biting were inconsistent, demonstrating the difficulty of inducing tail-biting in an experimental environment and the need for standardizing terms related to the behavior.

This study evaluated the impact of “In the Know” mental health literacy training for Canadian agriculture. We hypothesized that “In the Know” would significantly increase participants’ knowledge around mental health, confidence in recognizing mental health struggles, confidence in speaking about mental health with others, and confidence in helping someone who may be struggling with mental health. “In the Know” was a 4-h, in-person program delivered by a mental health professional who also had experience in agriculture. Six sessions were offered in Ontario, Canada in 2018. Participants were farmers and/or worked primarily with farmers. A pre-training paper questionnaire was administered, followed by a post-training questionnaire at the end of the session and 3 and 6 month post-training questionnaires via email. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were performed to compare participants’ self-reported knowledge and confidence across four timepoints. “In the Know” significantly improved participants’ self-reported mental health knowledge and confidence in recognizing mental health struggles, speaking to others, and helping others who are struggling immediately following training and often at 3 and 6 months post-training. This is the first study among farming populations to measure program impact with 3- and 6-month follow-ups. Given the reported associations between mental health literacy and increased help-seeking, disseminating “In the Know” more broadly across farming communities may help to increase mental health literacy and thus increase help-seeking among farmers.

Background: Animal disease monitoring and surveillance are crucial for ensuring the health of animals, humans and the environment. Many studies have investigated the utility of monitoring syndromes associated with data from veterinary laboratory submissions, but no research has focused on how negative test results from a veterinary diagnostic laboratory data can be used to improve our knowledge of disease outbreaks. For example, if a diagnostic laboratory was seeing a disproportionate number of negative test results for a known disease could this information be an indication of a novel disease outbreak? The objective of this study was to determine the association between the porcine circovirus associated disease (PCVAD) outbreak in Ontario 2004–2006 and the results of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PPRSV) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the results of PRRSV polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnostic tests requested by veterinarians. Results: Retrospective data were collected from the Animal Health Laboratory (AHL) at the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario Canada and were comprised of weekly counts of PRRSV ELISA and PRRSV PCR diagnostic tests requested by swine practitioners from 2000–2007. The results of the PRRSV ELISA and PRRSV PCRs were analysed separately in two models using logistic regression with the dependent variables being: the weekly probability of PRRSV ELISA positivity, and the weekly probability of PRRSV PCR positivity, respectively. The weekly probability of PRRSV PCR positivity decreased during the PVCAD outbreak (OR=0.66, P=0.01). The weekly probability of PRRSV ELISA positivity was not associated with the PCVAD outbreak. Conclusions: The results of this study showed that during the PCVAD outbreak in Ontario from December 2004-May 2006, the probability of a positive PRRSV PCR at the AHL decreased. We conclude that when a decrease in test positivity occurs for a known disease, it may suggest that a new disease agent is emerging in the population. Hence, monitoring the test results of commonly used first-order tests for a known disease (e.g. PRRSV) has the potential to be a unique form of syndromic data for the timely identification of novel disease outbreaks in swine populations.