Working Together to Address Farmer Well Being and Mental Health

By Joy KirKPatriCK

Every day, farmers and farm families face financial challenges, demands of the job, and changes outside of their control that impact their lives and livelihoods. Market volatility for inputs and outputs, access to labor, challenging weather conditions, and the pressure to grow and modernize are underlying drivers of this occupational stress.

Coping with these daily challenges can lead to chronic stress. This stress impacts farmers’ mental and physical well-being, relationships, and decision-making. A 2019 survey conducted by the American Farm Bureau Federation found that mental health is an important issue to 82% of farmers/farm workers or their families. In addition, farmers and farmworkers are at a higher risk for death by suicide. In a recent analysis of suicide risk factors among farmers in the Midwest US, researchers Bjornestad, Cuthbertson and Hendricks, found that agricultural producers have higher rates of psychological distress, depression and anxiety compared to the general population. Wisconsin farmers are 1% of the population and make up 2% of the suicides in the state, according to Sara Kohlbeck, Director of the Division of Suicide Prevention at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Kohlbeck’s research has noted issues leading to this rate, including lack of access to services, stress from physical health issues, ready access to lethal means, and the overall stress of farming. Farmers have cited obstacles of cost, embarrassment and awareness of mental health to be a barrier in seeking treatment.

With the growing recognition of farm stress and mental health and well-being, several efforts to address this have been established in Wisconsin. The University of Wisconsin’s Division of Extension has partnered with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection (DATCP) to bring federal farmer mental health funding to Wisconsin from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) as part of a multi-state North Central Region. As a participating recipient of this federal grant, Wisconsin is receiving $400,000 to create educational programs to help people identify farmers in emotional stress, educate on farmer wellness. The Resilient Farms and Families website offers education and resources on farmer wellbeing and mental health. The site developers are designing a map and populating resources for farmers by county. Extension has also received a Rural Opioid Technical Assistance grant to offer Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) and other behavioral health education to rural and farming communities.

As part of Governor Tony Evers’ 2019-2021 biennial budget, a farmer mental health assistance appropriation was created and $200,000 was allocated for DATCP to develop and launch its Farmer Wellness Program. Continuing funding at this rate as part of the state’s 2021-2023 biennial budget has allowed the program and usage of corresponding services to grow.

Additionally, DATCP is a recipient of over $500,000 in federal funding from NIFA awarded for stress assistance programing during the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act. These funds have been used to promote DATCP services to farmers throughout Wisconsin. Further, they are being used to increase farmers’ access to mental health resources and collaborate with established partner organizations such as the University of Wisconsin’s Division of Extension and Marbleseed on peerto-peer training and support groups.

FarmWell Wisconsin is a collaboration between Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program, University of Wisconsin – Madison, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, and the Center for Community and Nonprofit Studies. The collaboration received a Wisconsin Partnership Program 5-year grant for their project, Addressing Stressors, Preventing Farmer Suicide: Social Connectedness and Health for the five southwest counties of Wisconsin: Grant, Green, Iowa, Lafayette, and Richland counties.

Farm Neighbors Care Campaign is a social media campaign to support our farmers who are facing stress due to low market prices, poor weather and crop conditions, etc. Farming can be an isolating career, especially if other family members work off the farm. It is important to check in on your friends, neighbors and family members to gauge how they are doing and offer support and a listening ear.

Farmer wellbeing and rural mental health cannot be treated like the crises of before, thinking that just when prices get better, and the rains starts or stops that everything will be ok. To break through the stigma and encourage selfcare, a consistent and constant support network needs to be built and remain in place.

Joy Kirkpatrick is the Farm Succession Outreach Specialist for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension. She has worked for Extension for 29 years and worked on farm stress/farmer wellbeing since 2016. She is the Principal Investigator for Wisconsin’s subaward from the NC Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Center, USDA NIFA Award 202070028-32728.

FARMS AND FAMILIES: https://farms.extension.wisc.edu/ farmstress/

DATCp FARMER WELLNESS pROGRAM: https:// datcp.wi.gov/Pages/AgDevelopment/ FarmerMentalHealthWellness.aspx

FARMWELL WISCONSIN: https://farmwellwi.org/

NEIGHBORS CARE CAMpAIGN: https://wfbf.com/farmneighbors-care-campaign/

Funding for this was made possible, in part, by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). The views expressed in written materials, publications, speakers, and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of DATCP; nor does any mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organization imply endorsement by the State of Wisconsin.

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