Mental Health Awareness Month: Resources for Farmers

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, making it a good time to center our farmers and recognize all they go through to feed our communities and steward our land. Farmers carry a lot on their shoulders—climate unpredictability, market fluctuations, stress, isolation, and uncertainty. This is a heavy load to bear alone.

That’s why we’ve prepared some mental health resources for farmers. If you are experiencing a crisis, call 988 to talk to a caring counselor. You are not alone.

Breaking the Stigma

🔗**Access the mental health resources here**

Agriculture is Ohio’s top industry. Farmers give their all to keep the industry strong and our communities fed. Many factors are out of farmers’ control, and that can be stressful. Farmers face challenges like market fluctuations, difficult working conditions, extreme weather events, trade disruptions, difficult management decisions, and isolation.

All of these factors can have adverse effects on mental health. Compared with the general public, mental health issues like anxiety and depression are more prevalent among farmers. Farmers are also 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide.

Alongside these statistics, several barriers can also prevent a farmer from getting help. Stigma, or perceived stigma, can hinder farmers from seeking the support of a mental health professional. Lack of access and anonymity in small towns contributes to this, as does the perception that farmers should be able to take matters into their own hands. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Check on Your Neighbors

Farmers’ mental health impacts all of us, and we can all play a role in supporting it. We must be willing to recognize signs of distress and prepared to provide support. All of us can encourage our friends, family members, neighbors, and that friendly face at the farmers’ market to seek help when needed. It’s important to foster a supportive environment that allows mental health to be addressed without fear.

This month, we encourage eaters to do what they can to connect with, and directly buy from, our local farmers. If you’ve got one down the road or in your family, show them some love. Asking how someone is doing can go a long way.

Breaking the Stigma

Check on Your Neighbors

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