By Maddie Smith
1 (800) 273-8255… This is what Fillmore County dairy farmers read on the bottom of their milk checks each time they sell their freshest shipment of milk — the suicide hotline number.
As striking as this fact seems, few people consider the significance of the mental health of farmers. Anxiety, depression, and suicide are serious concerns for farmers today…and tomorrow.
In her article titled “Why are America’s Farmers Killing Themselves in Record Numbers?” agricultural reporter Debbie Weingarten states the net farm income for U.S. farmers has declined 50% since 2013, and the majority of farmers have negative incomes.
Since then, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in its 2016 “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report,” claimed that people working in agriculture commit suicide at higher rates than any other occupation, and farmers take their lives at a rate twice that of military veterans. However, these numbers may be even higher since a farm accident could easily be a suicide in disguise.
During a recent interview with Renee Hegg, an experienced Minnesota farmer, she describes the economy today as worse than the 1980s Farm Crisis. Prices have inflated for everything — equipment, land, and insurance — except for paychecks.
On behalf of her community members, Hegg shows little hope for the near future: “The optimism isn’t there, and those who always did have an optimistic outlook don’t.” Many small farmers in rural areas have already sold their property, and most ag lenders are unwilling to give loans to even the most prosperous farmers.
Operating a farm, in general, is stressful, especially on evaporating small farms. The workload on small farms is often more than twice that of a regular full-time job. Many operators live where they work and have family members as co-workers. If not that, there are always the stressful uncertainties regarding sufficient yields, healthy livestock, manageable weather conditions, and market changes. The CDC adds that farmers undergo social isolation, lack of mental health services in rural areas, and easy access to lethal means.
Often times, especially with younger couples, the wife has an outside job, making her the breadwinner and insurance provider of the household — which creates frustration, marital strain, and disconnect among spouses and family members.
Even if the farm isn’t doing well, there has to be money to put groceries on the table. However, almost any farmer will tell you the livestock is the first priority.
Dr. Rossman, an Iowa farmer and leading farm behavioral health psychologist, describes what it is like: “We were growing food, but couldn’t afford to buy it. We worked 80 hours a week, but we couldn’t afford to see a dentist, let alone a therapist.”
The Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network was designed to provide federal support and was even approved as part of the 2008 U.S. Farm Bill, but the Network dispersed after it received no funding. For an estimated cost of $18 million a year, farmers would have been provided with regional and national help lines, but the cost was too much.
Skip forward 10 years and $12 billion is currently granted to farmers as a payout. One local farmer spent several hours applying for this payout to receive a mere $70 and waste half a day. Through this same payout, grain farmers receive a futile 0.5 cent per bushel. Instead of using cost-effective, long-term relief programs to provide mental health resources, billions are being spent to provide minimal financial relief and a recipe for criticism against farmers.
When farmers struggle, local businesses — the implement dealer, hardware store, vet office — all receive less exchange. In some cases, even local bankers are sent to suicide training. Still, though, there is a false assumption that farmers are rich because of their equity. “We want to pay our bills. We’re not asking to be rich, but we don’t want to be criticized by the public,” Hegg remarks.
Aside from financial relief, farmers need care. Recognize the signs of depression and suicide and provide those who are depressed or suicidal with resources. These resources may be a brochure, a phone number, five minutes of your day to talk, or an extra set of willing hands from time to time. At the very least, understand their world. Farmers are, indeed, as Hegg says, “a very special breed.”
The next time you indulge a savory hamburger, drink a glass of cold milk on a hot summer day, or even prepare a quick peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch, remember how many farmers are suffering and unable to afford their own meals for the food you savor. I’m sure you you don’t wish to experience such melancholy with each bite, but I’m more sure that your neighboring farmers don’t wish to carry the suicide hotline number in their back pockets
Bibliography
Hegg, Renee, and Madilyn Smith. “Personal Experience with Mental Health Issues on the Farm.” 24 Nov. 2018.
Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Coping With Farm & Rural Stress in Minnesota. Coping With Farm & Rural Stress in Minnesota, 2018.
“Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 28 June 2018, www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6525a1.htm?s_id=mm6525a1_w#suggestedcit ation.
Weingarten, Debbie. “Why Are America’s Farmers Killing Themselves in Record Numbers?” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 6 Dec. 2017, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/06/why-are-americas-farmers-killing-themselv es-in-record-numbers.
Maddie Smith is a student at Fillmore Central High School. She is one of eight area students participating in the Journal Writing Project, now in its 20th year.
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