Poll: Farmers more willing to discuss mental health Farmers and people in rural areas are more comfortable talking about stress andmental healthchallengeswithothers, and while stigma around seeking help or treatment hasdecreased in rural and farm communities, it is still a factor. national sample of 2,000 rural adults. Key findings include: than older rural adults to say they are ex- periencingmore stress andmental health challenges compared to a year ago, and theyaremore likely thanolder rural adults to say they have personally sought care fromamental health professional.
comfortable talking to friends, family and their doctors about stress and men- tal health than they were in 2019. Four in five rural adults , or 83%, and92%of farm- ers and farmworkers say they would be comfortable talking about solutions with a friend or family member dealing with stress or a mental health condition, and the percentage of farmers and farmwork- ers who say they would be comfortable talking to friends and familymembershas increased 22% since April 2019. • A majority of rural adults, 52%, and farmers and farmworkers, 61%, are expe- riencing more stress and mental health challenges compared to a year ago, and theyare seekingcarebecauseof increased stress. Younger rural adults aremore likely
• Stigma around seeking help or treat- ment formental healthhas decreased but is still a factor, particularly in agriculture. Over the past year, there has been a 4% decline in the percentage of rural adults who say their friends or acquaintances at- tachstigmatoseekinghelpor treatment for mental health, and a 9% decline in those believing that their communityholds sim- ilar anti-treatment views. Still, a majority of rural adults—59%—say there is at least some stigma around stress and mental health in the agriculture community, in- cluding 63%of farmers and farmworkers. • Farmers and farm workers are more
quences for America’s farmers and ranch- ers,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall said in a statement. “They should be made after careful review and consideration of peer-reviewedscience. Thestakesaresim- ply too high tomakemajor label changes without duediligence fromEPAto learnall the facts surrounding reported incidents. America’s farmersdeservea fairprocessas theywork touseclimate-smartpractices to produce food, fuel andfiber forournation.” If you or someone you know is strug- gling emotionally or has concerns about theirmental health, visit the FarmState of Mind website at farmstateofmind.org for information on crisis hotlines, treatment locators, tips for helping someone inemo- tional pain, ways to start a conversation andresources formanaging stress, anxiety or depression. (This articlewas originally publishedby the American FarmBureau Federation at fb.org/news.)
Those are findings of a new research poll from the American Farm Bureau Federation. AFBFconducted the surveyof rural adults and farmers and farmworkers tomeasure changes and trends in stigma, personal experiences withmental health, awareness of information about mental health resources and comfort in talking aboutmental healthwith others. Thepoll resultswerecomparedwithpre- vious surveysAFBFconducted in2019and 2020focusingonfarmermentalhealth,and the impactsof theCOVID-19pandemicon farmermental health, respectively. “Farm Bureau has been encourag- ing conversations to help reduce stigma around farmer stress and mental health through our Farm State of Mind cam- paign,” AFBF President ZippyDuvall said. “This poll shows that we aremaking a dif- ference, butwe all still havework todo. It’s up toeachof us tokeep lookingout for our family, friendsandneighborsand let them know they’re not alonewhen they feel the increasing stress that comeswith thedaily business of farming and ranching.” Morning Consult conducted the poll on behalf of AFBF in December among a
Ag groups skeptical about herbicide data American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Soybean Association, National Cotton Council and other agri- cultural groups are taking issue with the Environmental Protection Agency over its tabulation of complaints regarding the herbicide dicamba. were submitted tomultiple sourcesor reg- ulators and overcounted as a result.
The EPA released data Dec. 21 on com- plaintsoveroff-targetdamage fromdicam- ba use during the 2021 growing season. Agricultural groups say it isunclear if the EPAor state regulators actually investigat- ed complaints to confirmdamage. “The decisions EPA makes regarding herbicides have wide-ranging conse-
According to anAFBF statement, grow- ers are expressing concerns over potential major gaps indataprovidedby theagency and are questioning whether complaints
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4 Ag Alert January 12, 2022
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