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FFA Corner: Being a part of agriculture means caring about others and their well-being.

February 3, 2022

3 Min Read
2021-22 Indiana FFA State Treasurer is Jordyn Wickard
MEET JORDYN: The 2021-22 Indiana FFA state treasurer is Jordyn Wickard. She lives in Hancock County, Ind., and hails from the Eastern Hancock FFA Chapter.Tom J. Bechman

If ever there was a time to be in agriculture … the time is now!

Growing up on our registered Angus cattle family farm, I had the opportunity to experience farm life. Throughout my lifetime, I have spent many miles and hours on the road, traveling across the country with my family, cattle, sheep and goats, attending livestock shows.

This life isn’t made for everyone, but it is most definitely the one for me. It is the moment when you find that new baby calf in the field, or the time when the hay baler won’t work, or it may be the Saturday mornings with Grandpa, chatting with his friends about the plans for the day. If ever there was a time to be in agriculture, it is now!

If ever there was a time to care about others, it is also now. In high school I attended the National FFA Washington Leadership Conference and was challenged to think of an issue I would like to tackle: the mental health of the American farmer. From that point on, I knew that to help others, I needed to show through my actions, rather than words, just how important this issue is to address.

I started finding “my” people, and I then realized how important checking up on your own mental health, as well as the mental health of your friends, truly is. After attending the Healing in the Heartland Seminar sponsored by the Indiana Ag Leadership Institute and talking with several elected officials, I helped develop an Indiana State Senate Resolution to raise awareness regarding the mental health of the American farmer.

Address mental health

Within the agriculture industry, we feel we must be invincible. We believe there is no time for tears because farmers must wake up every day, ready to work and make the most of his or her 24 hours. As humans, we sometimes forget to ask ourselves and our friends how one another is doing. In fact, according to USA Today, farmer suicide has increased by 40% within the past two decades.

This shows the impact this issue has on farmers across this nation, and it is an issue that must be put on the forefront of today’s issues within the industry. If farming was easy, everyone would do it — check up on your people. If ever there was a time to care about your neighbors and your mental health, it is now.

If ever there was a time to embrace and be proud of your roots in agriculture, it is definitely now. In my opinion, the beautiful thing about the agriculture industry is the lifestyle it provides. I find strength in shaking someone’s hand you haven’t seen in quite a while and asking how they have been and what issues they’re facing in their farming operation.

It is the people to our left and right who make this industry what it is. Whether your background is production agriculture, the supply chain or an ag lobbyist, agriculture has a place for you.

If ever there was a time, the time is now!

Wickard is the 2021-22 Indiana FFA state treasurer.

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