The most compelling stories to come from your farm this fall and winter will not be how you’re getting walloped by external forces, but rather, how you’re fighting back.

You’re facing a real Hydra, a multiheaded monster that has its eyes on your operation. The anticipated drop in farm income, the stalled farm bill, astronomical input costs, record trade deficits and wrong-headed, misguided politicians trying to convince America that the crops you raise are poisoning them and their kids are but a few of the issues beating down your door.

They’re already taking a toll on farmers’ mental health. Look at what’s happened to the dramatic sky fall in on-farm optimism since the summer, with farmer sentiment weakening sharply. Purdue University’s Ag Economy Barometer fell 13 points from July to August, putting farmer sentiment on par with late 2015 and early 2016, when the U.S. ag economy was in the early stages of a downturn. The university says farmers are most pessimistic about near-term conditions.

People are noticing. Off the farm, the biggest “so what” of this gloomy scenario is that food security, a real consumer fear, could be on shaky ground.

And it’s not just a U.S. phenomenon. My colleague Darinka Sebenik, a dairy newspaper editor in Slovenia, says farmers face similar pressure across Europe.

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“The only valuable things to people here are cellphones, computers, the internet, electricity and cars,” she says. “Food, the ‘fuel’ that runs the human body, has no real value or price. We pressure farmers with higher standards and requirements to adapt to climate change, become competitive and invest ... so that, in the end, they get an even lower price for the crop than they got years ago. How can farmers manage?”

The next chapter

That’s the million-dollar question. What are you doing to keep that Hydra at bay? What will you be doing to get by?

That’s a story.

There will be elements of the same story you’ve always told, about sustainability through the generations and efforts to produce food as effectively, economically and safely as possible.

But the overarching theme will be one of adaptation, about how you’re handling the extra cards you’ve been dealt, how you’re managing your crops, livestock and books, along with the added anxiety.

Other producers will look to you for tips, honesty and inspiration. Hopeful consumers, themselves carrying a heavy post-summer load, will wonder what they too can glean from your resilience.

Such grassroots stories are popular with readers, listeners and viewers of any media ­— including your own social media.

For sure, there’ll be dark days ahead. But keep your foot on the gas. Expect a lot of jockeying for position, no matter who gets elected in November. When you can, take the opportunity to help decision-makers understand your story — by telling it yourself.