It is widely-known that military veterans have
among the highest suicide rates in our country. Sadly, in any given year, 38 of
every 100,000 veterans take their lives.
We know too well why they end it all – they saw
things overseas that none of us could ever imagine, they battled post-traumatic
stress disorder, and they could have had disabilities ranging from traumatic
brain injury to dismemberment.
Many reading this column will be surprised to learn
that there is segment of our population that has a suicide rate rivaling that
of our struggling veterans – farmers.
Those who put food on our tables are taking their
lives in unprecedented numbers. Just a few years ago their rate of suicide was
85 per every 100,000 farmers -- 2.2 times the occurrence among veterans and 5 times
that of the general population. Although last year’s numbers aren’t available,
it’s well known in ag circles that that number is growing.
Even though this is a rural social crisis of epic proportions
it has received little attention in the public eye and, therefore, a similar
amount of concern from the masses.
That said, it’s probably mind blowing to most
Americans because they have a vision of the farming life that is made of serene,
pastoral landscapes, health country living, strong men and even stronger
families.
They know little of the incredible stresses put
upon farmers.
First, there’s the weather. They have to hope that
Mother Nature accommodates their needs and business cycles and ensures a timely
planting and a productive harvest. But, in many years, she’s not very helpful. Western
New York farms were hit hard by drought in 2016 when unirrigated, rain-fed
fields and orchards had crop losses between 30 and 90 percent. They prayed hard
for rains after that, and the skies responded in 2017 with too much, which
delayed plantings and harvests while damaging crops.
Then there’s animal disease. Back in 2015, deadly strains
of bird flu killed off unbelievable numbers of chickens and turkeys throughout
the central US. Even if it didn’t, the poultry farmers had to cull their flocks
to prevent the spread of disease. Halfway through that year, 50 million birds had
died and the losses to farmers and producers exceeded $3.3 billion.
Farmers are also besieged by the economy. Dairy
prices have plummeted over the past few years. In 2014, dairymen were getting
$24 per hundredweight for their milk. Now, that number sits around $13. Farmers
are producing and shipping milk because they have to, yet are losing money
every single day for doing it. In Wisconsin alone, 500 dairy farms closed their
doors last year. Here in New York, last year’s net farm income was a third of
what it was in 2014.
Then, there’s the opioid crisis. The stereotype is that
it’s hitting the cities and suburbs the hardest, but three-quarters of farmers say
it is impacting them or their workers. It’s easy to see why – farming is physically
demanding work, from heaving hay bales to lifting feed bags to picking
vegetables to bending down to milk cows. Back injuries and other aches are
common. To work through it, they were prescribed pain killers, which in turn
became an addiction.
There you have just 4 factors of many that make it seem
like there’s no hope for farmers. Too often, the odds are stacked against them
and there are so many things beyond their control. Seeing the very real chance
of losing the farms and homes they love so much -- the places that receive
their attention, blood, sweat, and tears 24/7/365 -- they see suicide as the
only way out. It’s sad.
There is help available for those living those dark
days. NY FarmNet is a free and confidential consulting service available to any
farm located in New York State to discuss financial and health issues. They
have a 24/7 hotline at 1.800.547.FARM. Crisis Services of Erie County has a
24-hour hotline (716.834.3131) to serve anyone contemplating taking their life.
The YWCA of Genesee County has one, too, at 585.344.4400 and so does Niagara
County’s Department of Mental Health at 716.285.3515.
I also encourage those reading this paper who are
not farmers or counselors to lend a hand. Outreach can be done in any number of
ways from checking up on your neighbors to supporting local farm stands to
buying only local or American-grown produce, meats and dairy products at the
grocery store to writing elected officials about foreign trade and frustrating
price controls on milk and foods.
As Paul Harvey once said: “And on the 8th day, God
looked down on his planned paradise and said, "I need a caretaker."
So God made a farmer.”
It’s time that we, as good citizens, acted as
caretakers for them. These are some dark days in agriculture. Farmers need help.
They need to know that they can ask for it and we need to know we should give
it to them.
From the 12
February 2018 Greater Niagara Newspapers and Batavia Daily News
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