'From the bootstraps': How stressors are breaking Kansas farmers
TOPEKA (KSNT) - As Kansas farmers face mounting pressures from unpredictable weather, volatile markets and dwindling government safety nets, suicide is becoming a tragic reality for more farmers across the Midwest.
27 News spoke to Assistant Director of Communications at the Kansas Farm Bureau, Sheridan Wimmer, and CEO of the Kansas Soybean Association, Kaleb Little, about the driving factors of agricultural worker suicide.
Wimmer and Little both said farmers face unique stressors that include: weather, global economics, marketing a commodity, managing a business and actions taken by the government. Little said America's farmers carry the weight of the success or failure of a business that might've been passed down through generations.
"Unfortunately, we often see stress, mental health and even suicides impact the ag community at a higher rate when profitability is squeezed like we’ve seen this year," Little said.
According to a study on agricultural worker suicide rates in Kansas that analyzed the years between 2016 and 2020, the suicide rate for workers was three times higher than the average for other male workers. Another study from AG Web Farm Journal goes a step further and claims that farmers are the most at-risk occupational group for suicide in the United States.
Wimmer said there's a stigma around mental health in rural parts of our state and the nation as a whole.
"They're very pull yourself up from the bootstraps folks, while that is commended, we know it's okay to not be okay, reaching out and looking for help is actually a strength and not a weakness," Wimmer said.
"From my perspective, there is definitely a stigma around mental health and suicide in agriculture for a whole host of reasons," Little said.
Soybeans are a big deal in Kansas. More than 12,000 farmers grow soybeans, producing about 200 million bushels a year on 4.7 million acres, according to Kansas State University’s Department of Agronomy. That’s good for 10th place nationally with the industry generating about $1.3 billion for the state’s economy.
Little said the current trade and tariff situation in the United States has caused serious financial disruptions to Kansas soybean farmers, especially with China completely shutting off imports of the crop.
"China is the world’s largest importer of soybeans, historically buying almost a quarter of all US soybeans grown in a year," Little said. "But with retaliatory tariffs on U.S. soybeans raising the price, they have made no purchase contracts for the upcoming harvest. As a result, during a year where some are projecting record-high soybean yields and production in Kansas, the price of soybeans is at a 19-year low. Also, as China has turned away from the US market this year, they have increasingly relied on Brazil to supply their needs, raising concerns of a long-term loss in market share for U.S. farmers."
Kansas soybean farmers are facing substantial losses this season. Little said input costs like fertilizer, fuel and equipment have all risen to the point that the cost of production is now lower than the break-even price for many soybean farmers.
There are several financial safety nets that farmers rely on during difficult times, which are part of the Farm Bill passed by Congress this summer. Little said it included expanded access to affordable crop insurance, improved Agricultural Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs.
"My hope would be that using any platform we have to talk about it, if it makes one person who is struggling with something reach out and ask for help, it is worth it," Little said. "We have to take care of our friends, family, and communities, and if that means asking tough questions now and then, let’s do it."
Little shared a website that offers resources to help farmers deal with overwhelming stress. You can visit Kansas Ag Stress Resources if you are a farmer in crisis or know someone who needs immediate assistance. You can also contact your local Kansas Community Mental Health Center or call the National Suicide Prevention Line at 988.
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