Farm Stress Toolkit

We are committed to addressing farm stress in the agricultural community. We recognize the important role that providers can play in helping to reduce stigma, identify stress and mental health needs in this community.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), farmers die by suicide at higher rates than the general population. There are several challenges the agriculture industry and farmers face that lead to farm stress. Unlike other professions, when a farm is no longer sustainable, a farmer cannot turn to a new profession easily, placing farmers at an increased risk of mental health challenges.

Farmers may encounter stress due to:

  • finances,
  • unpredictable weather and markets,
  • fatigue,
  • work conditions,
  • lack of personal time off, and
  • barriers to seeking services.

The risk of farm stress must be considered in assessment and treatment when linking farmers and their families to care.

Based on research and farm focus groups, barriers to seeking care include:

  • ability to leave the farm
  • ability to pay for services
  • long wait times
  • concerns the provider will not understand farming culture
  • offering coping skills that will not work with farm life (e.g., take a vacation)
  • planting and harvest season
  • hours of provider availability
  • stigma within the farming community (e.g., being able to “fix” one’s mental health as one would fix machinery or seen as weak)

As a result, Purdue Extension is working to destigmatize agricultural mental health. The Purdue Extension Farm Stress team provides educational programming and promotes mental health awareness among farmers, farm families, and rural communities. They help to address the day-to-day stressors of operating an agricultural business.

An American Farm Bureau found that 82% of farmers believe mental health is important, but only 21% sought care for it.

秋葵app has partnered with the Purdue Farm Stress Team in an effort to combat stigma, provide resources, and ensure availability of quality mental health services for farmers and their families.

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