Mental Health Resources for Farmers

Jan 28, 2020

Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Resources in the U.S.A. and Canada

With all that goes on in the world today, it’s sometimes hard not to feel anxious or even depressed about the future, especially when there are so many elements out of our control in the practice of agriculture. Thousands of people in our industry are struggling daily to turn a profit, to feed their families and to keep the lights on. Not since the 1980s has the pressure on farmers been so intense, and the rise in farmer suicides has been alarming.

We can all feel a little down from time to time, but for some of us, this isn’t just a passing thought or fleeting feeling – it can be a full-time condition worthy of professional attention. As farmers, we are often isolated from resources usually found in cities, including in-person counselling, support groups, psychiatrists and in-patient treatment facilities, but that doesn’t mean we need to suffer in silence. The reality is, farming is incredibly stressful. And with that stress can come feelings of being overwhelmed, worry, frustration, agitation, depression and anxiety.

Sometimes pride can get in the way of even acknowledging we have a problem. Times are changing. There is absolutely no shame in feeling the way you do – it’s not like you asked for it. As a bigger community, farmers are in this together – we have each other, and we can offer support and understanding to those sharing in the experience of modern agriculture. There are also a ton of resources available online and over the phone to help get us back on our feet and working towards a healthier way of being.

At Farms.com we understand where you’re coming from – we are farmers too, after all. We wanted to find a way to help our community, and as a web publisher, we decided to create a large mental health and suicide prevention resource that details available help in all U.S. states and Canadian provinces. We have included farmer-specific resources, support groups, suicide hotline numbers and more. Always remember, you’re not alone and help can be as close as a phone call away.

Video: Cleaning Sheep Barns & Setting Up Chutes

Indoor sheep farming in winter at pre-lambing time requires that, at Ewetopia Farms, we need to clean out the barns and manure in order to keep the sheep pens clean, dry and fresh for the pregnant ewes to stay healthy while indoors in confinement. In today’s vlog, we put fresh bedding into all of the barns and we remove manure from the first groups of ewes due to lamb so that they are all ready for lambs being born in the next few days. Also, in preparation for lambing, we moved one of the sorting chutes to the Coveralls with the replacement ewe lambs. This allows us to do sorting and vaccines more easily with them while the barnyard is snow covered and hard to move sheep safely around in. Additionally, it frees up space for the second groups of pregnant ewes where the chute was initially.