Mental health resources available
Although the effects of stress are felt by individuals from all walks of life, the never-ending list of stressors faced by agriculture producers makes the industry exceptionally difficult to navigate at times.
From high-production costs, increased workloads, family issues, market uåncertainty and natural disasters, to name a few, ag producers face a host of challenges that no doubt become a heavy weight to carry.
Those who find themselves overcome by stress should remember they are not alone, there is no shame in seeking help and there are numerous resources available to provide help and support during difficult times.
Available help lines
For those who are unsure of where to turn or who need someone to talk to, there are multiple help and crisis lines available.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 1-800-273-8255, offers 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, as well as prevention and crisis resources for individuals and their loved ones.
In the past year, the Wyoming Department of Agriculture (WDA) launched the Wyoming AgriStress HelpLine, a free, 24/7 hotline service available for producers and families seeking mental health support. The hotline number is 1-833-897-2474.
The Farm Aid Hotline refers producers in need to an extensive network of rural support organizations across the country and can be reached at 1-800-327-6243 or farmhelp@farmaid.org. This hotline is available Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Disaster aid
In addition to challenges faced within the industry, producers must also roll with the punches thrown by Mother Nature.
In light of the recent wildfires ravaging hundreds of thousands of acres across the West, destroying livestock, fences and hay, it is as important as ever for producers to be aware of available assistance.
The Disaster Distress Helpline is a 24/7, year-round national hotline dedicated to providing immediate crisis counseling for people experiencing emotional distress related to any natural or human-caused disaster. The number is free, multilingual and offers confidential crisis support services to all U.S. residents.
The helpline can be reached by calling 1-800-985-5990 or texting “TalkWithUs” to 66746 to connect with a trained crisis counselor.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers a host of disaster assistance programs to help producers through many of the ag industry’s unique challenges.
The Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) provides benefits for producers who experience excess livestock death due to weather conditions or depredation, while the Livestock Forage Program (LFP) provides compensation to livestock producers who suffer grazing losses caused by drought or fire.
The Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program offers emergency assistance for loss caused by disease, weather or other conditions not covered by LIP or LFP.
USDA also houses the Emergency Conservation Program, which provides assistance to producers who have had land damaged by natural disasters and the Emergency Loan Program, which offers loans to help producers recover from physical or production losses due to drought, flooding, disease or other natural disasters.
For more information on USDA’s disaster assistance programs, visit fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/disaster-assistance-program/index.
Other disaster aid programs available include the Farmers’ Legal Action Group (FLAG), which offers a number of resources regarding federal risk management and disaster programs to help protect ag operations in the wake of a natural disaster.
FLAG resources can be found online at flaginc.org/topic/disaster-assistance-and-risk-management/.
The Rural Advancement Foundation International also has resources available to help producers navigate different disaster programs and offers detailed information on disaster preparedness and recovery programs, which is available at rafiusa.org/programs/farmsustainability/disaster-programs/.
Other resources
Although stress is a universal emotion, every individual experiences, internalizes and reacts to moments of stress in their own way, so each situation is different. Because of this, there are numerous other programs available to address unique issues.
Through collaboration between the Western Regional Agricultural Stress Assistance Program, WDA, Montana Department of Agriculture, Montana State University and Northern Ag Network, the Beyond the Weather Movement was born, which encourages producers to talk with neighbors about things beyond their level of comfort.
“By sharing vulnerabilities, we normalize the mental health challenges we face that are unique in ag communities,” states the Beyond the Weather website.
More information and resources available through Beyond the Weather Movement can be found at beyondtheweather.com.
In addition to its many disaster aid programs, USDA also houses the Agricultural Mediation Program, which offers grant money to state-designated entities to provide “alternative dispute resolution through mediation to ag producers, their lender and others directly affected by the actions of certain USDA agencies.”
Grants are administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency and cover cases of agricultural loans – made by the USDA or commercial lenders – and disputes involving USDA actions on farm and conservation programs, wetland determinations, rural waters, loan programs, grazing on national forest system lands, pesticides, rural housing and business loans and crop insurance.
More information on the mediation program can be found at fsa.usda.gov.
Like the USDA, the University of Wyoming (UW) also offers helpful resources during tough times, which can be found at uwyo.edu/uwe/programs/farm-stress.html.
UW has released multiple publications outlining ways to cope with stress, signs of chronic stress, when to seek help and available resources.
More specifically, former UW Extension Service Agent Randy Weigel has two helpful publications titled “Agricultural Producers and Stress – When Do You Need a Counselor” and “The Personal Nature of Agriculture: Men Seeking Help.”
These can respectively be found at uwagec.org/aglegacy/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/PNA_Counselor_B1124-2.pdf and uwagec.org/aglegacy/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/PNA_MSH_B1134.pdf.
More online resources are available through the Farmer Resource Network at farmaid.my.site.com/FRN/s/, an online directory containing more than 750 organizations which work with producers nationwide on a variety of issues; the National Council for Mental Well-Being, a nonprofit membership organization focused on driving policy and social change related to mental health, available at thenationalcouncil.org and the Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center at umash.umn.edu.
Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
