Pandemic renews focus on farmers’ mental health

OSU sending help for Covid-stressed farmers, already more likely to die by suicide

xcessive rain in 2019 made planting and harvesting crops virtually impossible for

Hallie Williams and her husband. The couple were in their first year operating a small Seneca County farm, making the setback especially frustrating. h “We felt like we were failing,” she said. h To make matters worse, Williams found herself contending with another problem on top of the crop failure: anxiety. h Williams stressed that she never received a professional diagnosis of clinical anxiety, but felt that her mental health suffered from the stress of a difficult year. h “It was very, very tough, and I wish I could go back and tell myself to go and talk to somebody,” she said.

COURTNEY HERGESHEIMER/COLUMBUS DISPATCH Earl Lehner harvests and stores soybeans on his farm in Delaware. Ohio State University’s extension office is using a USDA grant to improve mental health services for farmers. A neighbor and fellow farmer recently took his own life.