Farmers no longer should “suck it up” when suffering

For generations, the attitude among farmers and farm families to personal strain and suffering has been to suck it up.

That be tough/don’t cry attitude is no longer acceptable. The idea of mental well-being in agriculture, rather than suck it up, has become recognized as necessary for healthy farmers.

The only way to challenge the old attitudes comes from open-ness, sharing concerns whether on coffee row or in a truck while chatting on a grid road. Challenging conditions beyond the individual’s control — weather, global markets, crop situations, finances, long harvest seasons — all create issues for mental health. A new Farm Credit Canada publication, Rooted in Strength, has been mailed to 165,000 rural addresses. The publication is intended to remove the stigma around mental health by promoting awareness, encouraging people to talk and seek support, should they need it. A Saskatchewan farmer Kim Keller shares experiences in the publication. Keller, the founder of Do More Agriculture, a non-profit working on mental health in agriculture, says the stigmas of needing support need to be broken. When you notice someone is not in their normal behavior, she suggests opening the door to conversation by asking about the matter.

Canada is one of the few countries not keeping data on suicide in the agricultural industry. Hearings on mental health by the federal standing committee on agriculture and agri-food while studying the matter have heard of suicides.

A United States study found workers in forestry, fisheries and agriculture were five times as likely to take their own lives as the general population.

Mental Health First Aid offers resources and training online at the site mfha.ca

Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net