If you or someone you know may be going through a mental health crisis, contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or the Crisis Text Line by texting “HOME” to 741741.
The farmers’ co-op in Grinnell, Iowa, is a center of hope every spring. Here, farmers buy seed and fertilizer for the summer crop and get tips on how to maximize their corn and soybean crops.
But one recent morning, a dozen psychologists met at the Key Cooperative Agronomy Center to discuss why so many farmers struggle silently with untreated anxiety and depression.
Warning signs of mental health problems
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention lists the following signs that a person may be considering suicide:
- The person talks about committing suicide, feeling hopeless, having no reason to live, being a burden to others, feeling trapped, or being in unbearable pain.
- The person may use alcohol or drugs more frequently, sleep too much or too little, be tired or aggressive, withdraw from activities and from family and friends, visit or call people to say goodbye, give away possessions, or search online for a way to end his or her life.
- People who are considering suicide often appear depressed, anxious, irritable, angry, ashamed, or disinterested in activities. In some cases, they may suddenly feel relief or their mood may improve.
- People in crisis situations can reach the national Suicide & Crisis Lifeline on 988.
Studies have found that suicide is unusually high among farmers. Researchers believe this is not only because many farmers have other risk factors, such as living in rural areas and having access to guns.
The tragic trend has caught the attention of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which sponsors trainings like the one in Grinnell to teach health professionals how to talk to farmers about the pressures they face as they work their land for a living.
“Many of them are born to do this. They have no choice,” family therapist David Brown told the session’s participants. He noted that many farms have been passed down for generations. Current owners feel that if they fail, they will be letting down their grandparents, parents, children and grandchildren.
Brown, who works for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, led the training in Grinnell. He said farmers’ fate depends on factors beyond their control. Will the weather be favorable? Will world events drive prices up or crash? Will political conflicts lead to changes in government agricultural support programs? Will a farmer suffer an injury or illness that prevents him from doing important work?
Brown said surveys have shown that many farmers are reluctant to seek mental health help, in part because they think therapists or doctors cannot understand their lives.
Tina Recker, a psychotherapist from northeast Iowa, attended the training. She has lived on farms and seen how the profession can become a person’s entire identity. “It’s all farm, farm, farm, farm,” she told the group. “If something goes wrong with that, that’s your whole world.”
It is difficult to estimate to what extent the increased suicide risk among farmers is due to their profession.
One reason for the increased rate may be that many farmers are middle-aged or older men, who are generally more at risk. “But the situation is certainly more comprehensive,” says Edwin Lewis, a USDA administrator who is overseeing efforts to address the situation.
The training in Grinnell was part of a federal program called the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network. Lewis said the program, which also funds counseling hotlines and support groups, spends $10 million annually.
Jason Haglund looks at the problem from several angles. He is a mental health advocate and runs a part-time farm near the central Iowa town of Boone. He and his brother-in-law grow corn and soybeans on the 500-acre farm where Haglund grew up. His family has farmed the area since the 1880s. His parents persevered despite going bankrupt during the farm crisis of the 1980s, and he embraces his role as steward of their legacy.
Haglund is a trained alcohol and drug addiction counselor and co-hosts a podcast in Iowa about the need to improve mental health care.
Tony Leys
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KFF Health News
He said running a family business can be stressful, but farmers have a particularly strong emotional connection to their roots, which drives many to stay in the profession.
“Let’s face it: farming is not necessarily a good financial decision these days,” he said.
Farmers traditionally value self-sufficiency, he says, trying to solve their own problems, whether it’s a broken tractor or a crippling anxiety attack.
“With the older generation, it’s still ‘pull yourself together and get over it,'” Haglund said. Many younger people seem more willing to talk about mental health, he said. But in rural areas, many don’t have access to mental health care.
The risk of suicide among farmers is also increased by the fact that many of them own weapons, which give them the immediate opportunity to act on deadly impulses, Haglund said.
Guns are an accepted part of rural life, where they are seen as a useful tool for pest control, he said. “You can’t go into a rural community and say, ‘We’re taking away your guns,'” he said. But a trusted therapist or friend might suggest a depressed person temporarily turn over their guns to someone who can keep them safe.
Haglund said it’s not just medical professionals who should learn how to deal with mental stress. He encourages the public to get involved with Mental Health First Aid, a national initiative that spreads knowledge about the symptoms of problems and how to combat them.
A 2023 review of studies on farmer suicides in several countries, including the United States, cited cultural and economic pressures.
“Farmers who died by suicide, especially men, were described as hard-working, strong, self-effacing people who took great pride in being the stoic breadwinners of their families. They were often remembered as members of a unique and fading culture, little understood by outsiders,” wrote the authors from the University of Alberta in Canada.
Rebecca Purc-Stephenson, a psychology professor who co-authored the paper, said healthcare professionals face two challenges: convincing farmers to seek help for their mental health issues and encouraging them to keep coming back for treatment.
Tony Leys
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KFF Health News
At the Iowa training, trainers asked psychologists to be flexible with their schedules and to be understanding if farmers change their appointments at the last minute.
Maybe one of your animals is sick and needs attention. Maybe a machine is broken and needs to be repaired immediately. Maybe the weather is perfect for planting or harvesting.
“Time is money,” said Brown, the therapist who leads the training.
The session’s lessons included what to ask and what not to ask when meeting with farmers. A big no-no is asking right away how much land they farm. “If you ask them how many acres they farm, it’s like asking about their bank account,” warned Rich Gassman, director of the Iowa Center for Agricultural Safety and Health, who assisted with the lesson.
It would be better to first ask what people enjoy about farming, advise the trainers.
Many farmers also have to resolve emotional questions such as when, how and whether the next generation will take over the family business.
Tim Christensen, a farm management specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, said some standard advice on dealing with stress can backfire on farmers.
For example, a doctor should never advise a farmer to take a few weeks off to relax. Most people cannot take that long off from their duties, he said.
“There is a saying on the farm: No nice holiday goes unpunished.”
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism on health issues and is one of the core programs of KFF – an independent source of health policy research, polling and journalism. Learn more about KFF.
