‘It’s OK to ask for help’: growing mental health support

Opinion

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This article was published 20/01/2024 (594 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The festive atmosphere of the annual Manitoba Ag Days in Brandon seems an unlikely backdrop for a discussion about farmers struggling with mental health.

The three-day event, now back into full swing after its pandemic-imposed hiatus, appears to be the epitome of optimism — a place inside and out of the bitter cold to hang out with others crazy enough to be in the same business, kicking the tires on shiny new technology and trading stories from the field.

But perhaps that’s what makes those crowded hallways and overrun booths the perfect place to bring up a subject many still don’t like to talk about: why it is so hard for farmers dealing with anxiety, stress or depression to seek help.

If the surveys are right, anxiety lurks like a shadow amidst all that innovation and excitement, and a high percentage of the farmers driving into the dark after the three-day event may have been putting on their own show of bravado.

The latest national survey of 1,200 farmers conducted by University of Guelph researchers in 2021 found that more than three-quarters of farm men and women expressed moderate to severe levels of stress combined with feelings of emotional exhaustion, burnout and thoughts of suicide.

It’s rooted in unavoidably high costs, uncontrollable risks and unpredictable outcomes.

As farmers look ahead to the coming year, the cost of putting in a crop has never been higher. Interest rates remain uncomfortably high. The sticker price on all that new farm equipment on display this week is shockingly inflated over prices from just a few years ago.

Grain prices have been softening. And it’s dry. Even with the snowfall since Christmas, patches of black dirt are already showing through in the fields, signalling another worrisome spring is on the horizon.

At least there is cash flow. According to industry reports, the transportation system moving grain to market this year has been humming along smoothly.

Another source of comfort is the fact that the resources available to help farmers cope with all that stress and anxiety are expanding.

The federal and provincial governments used Ag Days to announce that the Manitoba Farmer Wellness Program will receive $450,000 over three years to provide counselling services to farmers and their employees.

The program, now into its third year, is designed to bridge the gap between crisis counselling and long-term support systems with access to several sessions with professional counsellors familiar with agriculture’s unique challenges. And there’s no charge.

At least some of these new funds will be used to make sure farmers know about the program and the kinds of support it provides.

As it turns out, getting farmers connected with mental health support isn’t as simple as the Kevin Costner movie Field of Dreams, where you “build it and they will come.”

Farmers are a cautious bunch. They don’t talk about their personal struggles to just anyone.

You build the support system and take it out to the community where farmers can see it and casually talk to the people on the front lines of counselling, so they get a feel for whether it’s a safe enough space for them to risk exposing their vulnerabilities — preferably before they find themselves in crisis.

“That’s why we were at Ag Days,” said Marcel Hacault, a retired farmer and farm leader who is now volunteering as board chair for the service.

“We have to get out there. We have to tell farmers that it’s OK to ask for help,” Hacault said as he drove home from Brandon this week with Gerry Friesen, one of the program’s founders.

“We have to let farmers know that the counsellors are real people, and they’ve seen them at the Ag Days … to you know, try and reduce the stigma around it.”

It’s about making sure people understand that getting help is not a show of weakness. Rather it can make them stronger and more resilient.

Grabbing a lifeline before you go over a cliff is, quite simply, a smart thing to do.

Laura Rance is executive editor, production content lead for Glacier FarmMedia. She can be reached at lrance@farmmedia.com