Suicide is a growing problem in today’s society, and even more so among those involved in agriculture.

About 50 people recently participated in a summit in Baldwin, Wis., and online that focused on farmer suicide prevention. The summit was designed to determine why farmers are at risk and what can be done to reduce that risk. The event was sponsored by the University of Wisconsin Extension; the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection’s Wisconsin Farm Center; and the Farmer Angel Network of Western Wisconsin. It was funded by a USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network grant.

High risk of suicide in ag

Participants learned that farming is among the top five occupations nationally in terms of suicide risk, and that suicides have been on the rise in recent years.

Sara Kohlbeck, director of the Division of Suicide Research and Healing at the Medical College of Wisconsin, said a study by the Wisconsin Violent Death Reporting System showed that from 2004 to 2018, 190 Wisconsin farmers were suicide victims. Ninety-four percent of the farmers who died by suicide in Wisconsin during that time frame were men. Seventy percent of those used a firearm, 18% died by hanging and 6% by poisoning. Seventeen percent of those 190 farmers had alcohol in their system when they died.

Related:What’s the point of not making money?

Kohlbeck said the lethality of firearms combined with the inhibition-lowering effects of alcohol can cause impulsive behavior and often lead to suicide. Family members of a farmer who might be a suicide risk should consider making sure firearms are securely stored, out of easy access of the farmer, she said.

Suicide victims sometimes have experienced an injury or been diagnosed with a health issue that has compromised their ability to care for their families, Kohlbeck said. It is often difficult for farmers to rely on others for help when confronted with these situations.

In other cases, family relationships have soured or a farm is losing money, increasing stress to more than the farmer thinks he or she can bear.

Barriers to seeking mental health help

Kohlbeck said research shows there are a number of barriers to seeking help for farmers on the brink of suicide. Some farmers believe there is a stigma attached to seeking mental health services; some think it is a waste of time to go to an appointment where their problems won’t be understood; others might not have insurance to cover their counseling visits.

One of the most powerful types of assistance is peer support, Kohlbeck said.

Related:Mental health care easier said than done

“We need to equip folks who interact with farmers so they can recognize when farmers are faced with stressors,” she said. “Building a peer support infrastructure can be really helpful.”

COMMUNITY SUPPORT: Jaci Gerdes, a dairy commodity analyst from Bay City, Wis., urges people in farming communities to get back to the days of offering support to their neighbors. (Larry Williams/Getty Images)

A three-woman panel offered insights into the farmer suicide problem from their perspectives during the summit.

Jennifer Webster, a logistics specialist with CHS Inc. in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, said her father, a farmer near Ellsworth, Wis., died by suicide a little more than a year ago.

“I watched my dad go in for medical treatments, switch to various medications, and try to make appointments and not be able to get in to see a doctor,” she said. “A week before he passed away, he went into the emergency room, feeling light-headed, and the doctor on staff couldn’t tell him what was wrong and sent him home. If they would have taken it a little more seriously at the hospital, he might be alive today.”

Webster said people in health care — such as those working in emergency rooms — need better mental health training to help them recognize people at risk for suicide.

Brittany Olson, a fifth-generation dairy farmer from Dallas, Wis., in Barron County, said her husband struggles with depression and his doctor told him to “sell the cows.” She compared farm-related depression to postpartum depression.

Related:Mental health resources for farmers

“People need to be more open about mental health,” she said. “Getting treatment should be the same thing, whether it’s a broken heart or a broken leg.”

Olson said she knows of a farmer who was on a waiting list to see a therapist for nearly a year.

“The question is, will that person be there for that appointment when they can finally get it?” she said.

Jaci Gerdes, a dairy commodity analyst from Bay City, Wis., said it is important that farmers have financial consultants they can rely on when budgets get tight.

“A financial consultant can help farmers know what to do with money when they have it and what to do when they don’t,” she said.

Helping others

Gerdes urged people in farming communities to get back to the days of offering support to their neighbors, maybe with something as simple as stopping by with a pan of apple crisp just to check in and say hello.

Webster said when her father died in 2023, the family received an outpouring of support from the community, helping on the farm or simply taking her mother for a ride in the car.

“Some people say, ‘When does this feeling of grief go away?’ It will get better, but it will never go away,” she said.

Webster urged her family to earmark donations received after her father’s death to start a Farmer Angel Network in western Wisconsin, patterned after the network formed in Sauk County in 2018 after a local farmer died by suicide. Both groups organize events to bring awareness to issues related to farm suicides.

“We wanted to donate some of the money from the funeral to farmer mental health, and when I heard about the Farmer Angel Network, I said, ‘That’s it,’” Webster said. The western Wisconsin group hopes to organize harvest events this fall and give a scholarship to someone going into a mental health field.

“I couldn’t be prouder to support my family and those who might be suffering,” Webster said. “Mental health is a big deal. Anxiety is very real. My dad’s not here, but he taught me to live a better life.”

For more information about farmer stress and mental health, contact Joy Kirkpatrick, farm management outreach specialist with the UW-Madison Division of Extension, at [email protected] or call 608-263-3485. The national suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.