The Americans who feed us all are suffering
Recent reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that suicide rates among American farmers are higher than any other occupational group, and five times higher than that of the population as a whole.
One is tempted to argue that this reflects the decline of community life in rural America. Farmers historically received mental and emotional support from granges, county fairs and church involvement. According to Robert Putnam, however, such sources of social capital are in decline in America. As a result, rural farm families, more than ever, are forced to rely on their own strength and resources to cope with the pressures of their lives.
Unfortunately, the economic pressures in farming have mounted over the last few years. Corn prices fell 44 percent from 2013 to 2017. Soybean prices fell 33 percent. According to the USDA, net farm income fell more than 40 percent during these five years.
When I lived in Kansas some years back, I encountered the new label of “agribusiness.” Instead of speaking of farming, our local friends were instead involved in agribusiness. Today, those in agribusiness must have skills in finance, in addition to farming, botany, chemistry, meteorology, and mechanics, not to mention knowledge of local, state, and federal laws.
The economics of agribusiness are often beyond one’s control: the price of corn and beans, the decisions of local dairy companies, rainfall, late freezes, etc., all create pressure on the farmer, over details that she cannot control. Heavy and frequent rains where I live, for example, have made it very difficult to harvest hay both this year and last.
Given their lack of control over these many aspects of their lives, many in agribusiness have found that in order to stay in business, they must supplement their income with other employment. This is not necessarily new. Most successful (and struggling) agribusiness people have (for years) worked other jobs to supplement their bank account. Some have taken part-time work, such as school bus driving, to maximize their field time to harvest hay in the summer. Others work full-time factory jobs, choosing to work third shift, to maximize their agribusiness time in daylight hours.
Agribusiness in America is a huge part of America’s economic strength. The federal government has developed various (controversial) support programs to stabilize agribusiness during downturns in the agribusiness economy. A better approach, however, is for the federal government to facilitate the trade and exporting of farm products. Recent talk about trade tariffs are very concerning, as such tariffs risk putting our struggling economic agribusiness people into bankruptcy. The proper role of the federal government is to ensure that they are facilitating trade, so that those in agribusiness can continue to feed America, and the world.
The suicides among the agribusiness community are worrisome. These rural Americans need community support and reasonable economic opportunities. I, for one, will gladly share my country road with the local farmers who help to feed America, and the world.