Silent Struggles: The Mental Health Crisis Among Farmers and Ranchers
The farmers and ranchers who feed us are killing themselves at a rate 50% higher than people in other jobs.
The Smokehouse Creek Fire, an active wildfire and Texas’ largest in history, is devastating the state’s agriculture, killing thousands of livestock, destroying crops, and wiping out infrastructure across 1 million acres in the Panhandle.
It’s easy to underappreciate stories like these when TV reports become background noise to the many other things we prioritize in our lives.
I’ve been living in Montana since 2013 and have become much more sensitive to the immense pressures that our farmers and ranchers face every day.
In fact, a Scientific American story last month suggested that US farmers and ranchers are facing a mental health crisis as a result of the growing challenges associated with this line of work.
Financial uncertainty, physical isolation, and unpredictable crop yields are among the biggest stressors faced by our colleagues in agriculture.
Poor access to quality care and long-standing stigma associated with seeking mental health help compounds the problem. It’s no wonder suicide is a growing problem among farmer and ranchers.
I’m worried about the farmers and ranchers affected by the current Texas wildfire. It may take months or years to fully appreciate the devastation caused by this natural disaster.
There is little food or water remaining for the surviving livestock. Hundreds of miles of power lines were destroyed, cutting off electricity that is critical to pumping water from wells for dehydrated cattle.
It will take a long time before the affected land recovers enough to grow vegetation for livestock.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said the farmers and ranchers will “just have to pull themselves up by the bootstraps and do the best they can.”
While those were meant to be words of encouragement, I’m concerned the attitude will bleed over into the approach for seeking out mental health care. Seeking out help is ok and should be encouraged.
Our team is working with the Montana Department of Agriculture to deliver free mental health supports to local farmers and ranchers through Counseling Access for Montana Agriculture.
I hope Texas farmers and ranchers are able to access a similar service at this critical moment.
