Organizations Work to Provide Ohio Farmers With Mental Health Resources
In partnership with: Ohio Department of Agriculture
Statistics are more than a number when you’ve had a personal experience connected to one. Ohio farmer Nathan Brown can relate to the 2022 survey of Ohio farmers that showed one out of every 10 had an at-risk score on a depression screening tool. He remembers that call for help from a friend whose pigs had gotten out. When Brown arrived at his friend’s farm, his instincts and mental health training told him a bigger issue was at play.
“As I pulled into the barn lot, I noticed things were disorganized,” Brown says. “The grass was high. Things were not typical of what the homeplace looked like.”
Growing Crisis
Brown’s friend, Brandon Fullenkamp, had joined an increasing number of farmers facing a mental health crisis, struggling to hold on to their farms amid falling commodity prices, global markets, and rising land and equipment costs.
“Farmers have faced the largest two-year decline in net cash income in the country’s history,” says Ty Higgins, senior director of communications for Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.
As farmers wrestle with financial hardships and sometimes face the reality of losing a multigenerational farm, some find themselves facing depression, substance abuse, and suicide – often in isolation.
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Brown, who farms 1,200 acres of corn, soybeans, cattle, and sheep helped encourage his friend to get the help he needed. Fullenkamp has since become an advocate for mental health, but Brown also has experienced the tragedy of those who couldn’t overcome the stress. He lost another friend to suicide, although he and others tried to intervene.
“Agriculture today is not the agriculture of yesterday,” Brown says. “Farmers don’t help their neighbors like they did or even stop in to chat, which is increasing isolation.”
for farmer mental health at the Harvesting Healthy Minds event in Highland County. Photo Credit: Ohio Farm Bureau
Combining Resources
In 2019, Ohio had one of the wettest springs on record, and 1.5 million acres of soybeans and corn didn’t get planted.
“As members were calling us at Farm Bureau to see what their options might be to help them get through that major challenge, the tone was different,” Higgins says. “We could tell that something in farm country just wasn’t right.”
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This collective concern led to the launch of Ohio’s “Got Your Back” campaign, bringing together partners and mental health resources for the farming community. Those initial meetings led to the formation of the Ohio Agricultural Mental Health Alliance in 2023.
Partners in the effort include the Ohio Department of Agriculture, Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation, The Ohio State University, Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, and private entities.
The group created an anonymous survey for the state’s agricultural communities to help gauge stress and learn how farmers are dealing with it, says Brian Baldridge, Ohio Department of Agriculture director.
“The survey will help our partners, researchers and mental health professionals at The Ohio State University and Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services determine where resources are needed and help ensure support is available,” Baldridge says.
Breaking Down Barriers
In addition to the survey, The Ohio State University previously created a farm stress certification program. More than 1,000 certified mental health professionals in Ohio are now part of the program, allowing farmers to speak with counselors who understand agriculture.
Online resources such as telehealth and the national peer support program have also been vital resources.
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The greatest challenge in this effort is breaking through the stigma and persuading farmers to seek the help that is available.
“Farmers are tough. Farm families are tough. But sometimes tough doesn’t cut it,” Higgins says. “I tell farmers all the time that I think the strength is in reaching out for that help.”