TUESDAY TOPIC: Let’s break silence and talk about mental health on the farm – Sioux City Journal

Right now, the agriculture horizon is a bit cloudy. A five-year decline in farm income, retaliatory tariffs on U.S. ag commodities, stalled trade agreements, disrupted renewable biofuel policies, devastating natural disasters, and shortages of LP gas needed to dry harvested grain add to the growing burdens weighing heavily on the minds of farmers. Mounting pressures to pay the bills, get the crops out and make ends meet can overwhelm mental wellness, even when times are good.

When bottled up and left unchecked, despair can have deadly consequences.

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According to research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the suicide rate is 45 percent higher in rural America than in urban areas. Farmers have higher rates than the general population. A number of factors may contribute to the rural-urban disparity, including geographic isolation, distance from health care services, stigma associated with obtaining mental health care services, and financial pressures stemming from the downturn in the farm economy.

Were seeing an increase in the number of farmer suicides reminiscent of the 1980s farm crisis. The desolation of losing a farm that had been in a family for generations was too much for too many farmers to handle. The loss of life and livelihoods still echoes throughout farming communities decades later.

As one of Iowas U.S. senators, Ive championed rural America for decades, including my advocacy to protect and expand access to health care services. That includes using my voice to break the silence on mental health for Americas farmers.

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TUESDAY TOPIC: Let's break silence and talk about mental health on the farm - Sioux City Journal