We all know that agriculture is not easy and not for the faint of heart. As much as we would love to have bumper crops and chart-topping calves each year, we know most years that is not the case. Producers can get weighed down from the stress that comes with farming the land and the livestock.

My team at the Missouri Department of Agriculture has partnered with the AgriSafe Network to launch an AgriStress Helpline. Producers can call or text 833-897-2474 at any time, day or night, to visit with a trained health professional. This free, confidential resource is available 24/7 for producers who simply need someone to talk with about their challenges.

What sets this help line apart from others is that the AgriStress Helpline is agriculture focused. The trained professionals on the other end of the line understand agriculture. They understand the terminology, the stress of low markets and high input costs.

Producers too often think the person who answers the phone “just won’t understand.” That is not the case with this new help line.

Bearing ag’s burden

This year has been particularly difficult for many farmers and ranchers. A wet spring kept farmers out of fields. High fertilizer and fuel costs compounded an already difficult bottom line. Crippling drought in southwest Missouri and floods on the eastern side of the state came at the same time.

Farmers are geared to put their heads down and keep working. They deflect every punch thrown their way and keep pushing forward. The agriculture community has one of the highest rates of suicide in our nation. This has to stop!

There are many resources out there for mental health challenges and suicide prevention, including a new 988 suicide hotline released earlier this summer. Those are wonderful resources, and I encourage people to use any of them. If anyone needs a mental health resource, I want to be sure there is a resource available.

We all know farmers who will be reluctant to drive up to a facility in their hometown to talk to a professional. After all, everybody in town knows that pickup. That reluctance is one of the reasons this help line can be such a resource for our industry.

Producers can make this phone call from the cab of the tractor while harvesting soybeans or putting out hay. They can call from the pickup while hauling cattle.

What sets the AgriStress Helpline apart is the trained agricultural health professional who answers the phone call when you dial.

Just takes one

As we prepared to roll out this new resource, several people have asked me what does success look like a year from now. This help line is a success if it helps one producer, or keeps one farmer from changing the lives of their family members forever.

My husband, Kevin, and I are fifth-generation farmers. We raise corn, soybeans, hay, cattle and hogs on the family farm. We understand the stress of keeping the farm in the family while battling high costs, weather and markets.

Please know that help is available. It is OK to say that you are not OK.

If you or someone you know is struggling, please call or text 833-897-2474. It is free, confidential and available 24/7 for a phone or text conversation.

Our team has prepared a website with many additional resources and helpful links, including a mental health toolkit prepared by the University of Missouri Extension. Find all the resources at agriculture.mo.gov/stress.

Chinn is the director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture and a hog producer from Clarence, Mo.