New research is finding more than half of farm families are dealing with symptoms of depression or anxiety.
Josie Rudolphi is with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
“A majority of our respondents would rate their mental health as good, despite also meeting the criteria for perhaps mild, moderate, or even severe depression,” she says.
Rudolphi is partway through a five-year nationwide project studying how farm economics impact the mental health of farmers and their children.
“Sixty percent of adults met the criteria for at least mild symptoms of depression and mild symptoms of anxiety,” she shares.
She tells Brownfield that’s much higher than rates in the general population and, more surprising, the same prevalence of symptoms was found in adolescents.
“Net relationship or correlation between parent depression and adolescent depression is incredibly strong,” she adds.
Rudolphi says it’s likely the farm community has grown accustomed to the negative symptoms and accepts them as normal.
If you are in need of help and need someone to talk to please reach out to the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8.
Find more about the research here.
Additional resources supporting mental health are helping to recognize underlying stressors farmers face.
Ohio State University rural sociologist Shoshanah Inwood tells Brownfield there are often invisible mental health issues in agriculture aside from suicide. For example, she says her research is finding postpartum depression is common and likely higher in rural areas.
“In almost every focus group we did, there was a woman who mentioned having postpartum depression, and over half of our national sample of farmers who responded said that they knew somebody or had somebody in their family that had suffered from pre and postpartum depression,” she says.
She says more resources to support regular stressors in rural communities, like affordable healthcare and access to childcare, could create a more resilient industry.
“When we’re looking about what are the extraordinary stressors in agriculture, a lot of times we focus on weather, on climate events, those are going to be big stressors,” she says. “But it’s the everyday stressors like childcare that actually affect your ability to withstand and be resilient to those bigger stressors.”
Bipartisan legislation was recently introduced in the U.S. Senate to reauthorize the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network and increase program funding levels. The Farmers First Act would help support farm stress services and counseling specific to unique factors in agriculture.
The bill was introduced by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Joni Ernst (R-IA), and cosponsored by Senators Jon Tester (D-MT); Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), John Boozman (R-AR), Tina Smith (D-MN); Jerry Moran (R-KS); Susan Collins (R-ME); and Michael Bennet (D-CO).
May is Mental Health Awareness Month.
The president of the nation’s longest-running farm crisis hotline says funding for mental health vouchers is running out.
Vern Jantzen with Nebraska’s Rural Response Hotlines says it’s provided an average of 2,000 to 3,000 vouchers per year, which allow for mental health providers to be reimbursed for services. “If things continue as they have been through the first of the year, we will be up to 10,000 mental health vouchers by the end of this year. It’s a phenomenal increase.”
The Rural Response Hotline is supported by the Rural Response Council, which is composed of farmers and members of church denominations. Legal Aid of Nebraska provides professional services for mental health and financial and legal advice for the hotline.
Jantzen tells Brownfield the hotline had several funding resources available through coronavirus pandemic programs. “We used up all of the funds and those haven’t been renewed. That question about if we’re going to have enough funds to match the demand for vouchers in the future is still an open question.”
He says demand is due to farmers being more familiar with the hotline and there’s less of a stigma surrounding metal health. “It’s this mentality that I’m tough or I’m independent and come hell or high water I’m going to make it through. That’s not a bad attitude to have, but that can cause you to have a lot of stress. It can impact your health, your relationships with your spouse and your family.
He says farmers have faced numerous challenges that have created additional stress. “Some of the weather extremes that we have faced in the last several years. First, we had a bomb cyclone, then a flood. Then it stopped raining. We have issues with drought and on top of that, we had COVID-19. All of these things, people have to work through.”
The Rural Response Hotline was created in 1984 and is online 24/7, 7 days per week.
If you need resources, call 800-464-0258 or visit farmhotline.com.
The American Farm Bureau Federation is urging farmers to talk more about mental health wellness.
During a recent webinar hosted by Farm Bureau, licensed professional clinical counselor Cynthie Christensen said speaking with a therapist is a big first step to combat mental health issues.
“There is nothing more important to your farm operation than you,” Christensen said. “I would really encourage you to value yourself.”
Arkansas farmer James Dixon says he’s hopeful his recovery from alcohol addiction can help others. “I was drinking every night when I bought my first farm at the age of 23,” Dixon said. “I never thought it was a problem and it never interfered with my daily activities. In my mind, everybody drank at night.”
He says his drinking kept getting worse, but eventually reached out for help. Dixon says he went through treatment twice on his path to recovery and has now been sober for six and a half years.
“Step by step things get better,” he said. “You learn to be able to look people in the eyes again and forgive yourself. Even though everybody else may have forgiven you, it takes time to forgive yourself for everything you’ve done and move on.”
Dixon says it can be difficult to talk about mental health issues, but encourages anyone struggling to ask for help.
GrowNextGen ambassadors help educate others about today’s agriculture industry and how it connects to science.
In this Voice of Soy, Jane Hunt, who leads the program, details why the program is important to the future of Ohio agriculture.
Missouri farmers and ranchers deal with stress on a daily basis but when natural disasters strike the mental stresses mount. In this Managing for Profit on Brownfield, Rachel Jones, Manager of Trauma Informed Care with the Department of Mental health, recaps our series. Jones says rural resiliency is very important in overcoming the mental health effects of natural disasters. resiliency’s importance.
University of Missouri Extension specialists stand ready to connect farmers with mental health resources. In this Managing for Profit on Brownfield, Kathy Dothage, an MU Extension professional, says they don’t diagnose, they educate and help people recognize changes in behaviors. Karen Funkenbush, head of the Missouri AgrAbility Project and an MU Extension specialist, works with people who have disabilities and are actively engaged in agriculture, connecting them to the help they need to succeed.
To learn more, visit: dmh.mo.gov.
A former national FFA officer from Missouri says the pressures for everyone in the ag industry are immense no matter a person’s age. In this Managing for Profit on Brownfield, Paxton Dahmer says much of the work on increasing mental health awareness is at the local chapter level which is the heart of the FFA organization. He points out that stress is not just felt by farmers, it’s everyone in the ag industry.
To learn more, visit: dmh.mo.gov.
The pressures of farming are immense and so is the mental stress. In this Managing for Profit on Brownfield, Missouri Agriculture Director Chris Chinn says most farm families have to split work between town and the farm which creates its own stressors on top of the job of farming itself. She says the department will be rolling out a plan to help Missouri farmers and ranchers connect with mental health help in their areas.
To learn more, visit: dmh.mo.gov.
Missouri Ag Director Chris Chinn says farmers are not the best at de-stressing.
In this Managing for Profit on Brownfield, Chinn – a family farmer herself – says it’s important to take time for yourself. She says farmers and ranchers “are probably the worst at making time for themselves.” Chinn and her husband Kevin are members of a family farming operation where she does the books on weekends. For women on the farm, she says, there are often added pressures.
To learn more, visit: dmh.mo.gov.
Farmers put their bodies to the test every day which can lead to chronic pain.
In this Managing for Profit on Brownfield, the chief medical director of the Missouri Department of Mental Health says chronic pain can lead to lack of sleep which can lead to anxiety. Dr. Angeline Stanislaus says the mind and body are connected when it comes to pain and it’s important for farmers to get the medical help for the pain before it becomes chronic.
To learn more, visit: dmh.mo.gov.
Mental health stigma still exists but some young people are working to face it head on. I’m Julie Harker with this Managing for Profit on Brownfield. Madalyn Elam is a high school senior and member of the Columbia FFA chapter. She says a lot has changed about the stigma since middle school and the pandemic. She says a big letdown last spring led her to seek counseling.
To learn more, visit: dmh.mo.gov.
A farmer who has struggled with mental health issues wants other farmers to know they are not alone.
On this Managing for Profit on Brownfield, Jason Medows, the owner and founder of the podcast Ag State of Mind says he gets a lot of support from his family, his faith and online.
To learn more, visit: dmh.mo.gov.
The farming community is resilient but when faced with a natural disaster it can be too much to overcome without help.
In this Managing for Profit on Brownfield, Del Camp, chief clinical officer at Ozark Center says natural disasters on the farm can be overwhelming. Debbie Fitzgerald, director of crisis services at Ozark Center, says everyone is affected by natural disasters even if they weren’t directly impacted.
To learn more, visit: dmh.mo.gov
The stress of farming is made worse in a natural disaster which can lead to mental health struggles. Knowing there is help waiting can get people past the stigma of mental issues. In this Brownfield Managing for Profit, Michelle Horvath, director of access and urgent care services with Compass Health Services, says it’s okay not to be okay. But, further, it’s not okay to not ask for help.
To learn more, visit: dmh.mo.gov
Farmers who experience a natural disaster on their farms can often develop depression but need to know there is help for them.
In this Managing for Profit, Tony Sokolic, vice president of youth behavioral health services at Comtrea, a community mental health treatment provider, says trauma can show itself in the body through fatigue and aches and pains but it can also affect mental health. Andrea Cuneio, licensed professional counselor with Comtrea, says it’s very normal to experience depression after a disaster. They both discuss what depression is and how to get help.
When natural disaster strikes a farm it’s not just the farm that suffers. It’s everyone ON the farm.
In this Managing for Profit on Brownfield, Beckie Gierer, Deputy Director of the Office of Disaster Services at the Missouri Department of Mental Health, says trauma is the body and mind’s reaction to a very terrible event which she explains in detail along with strategies to get beyond the trauma.
To learn more, visit: dmh.mo.gov
Farming can be stressful and when a natural disaster hits the stress can skyrocket.
In this Managing for Profit, Rachel Jones, director of the Disaster Response state grant with the Missouri Department of Mental Health, says they’re contracting with 26 counties affected by 2019 disasters to raise awareness about mental health services available to farmers as they focus on the strengths of rural communities.
