Supporting the frontline workers who help sustain America
Farmers are an integral part of America’s backbone, contributing to our country’s basic daily needs. COVID-19 took a tremendous toll on U.S. farming communities. Rural and agricultural communities are grappling with greater levels of uncertainty of what will happen to their livelihoods in the coming months and years.
COVID-19 has shaken farming communities, disrupting supply chains, and exacerbating the financial instability that already hovered over many farm families.
As a result, psychologists and other mental health professionals are concerned about the rate of undiagnosed mood disorders and substance misuse in farming communities.
Unique stressors facing farmers
Pre-COVID, U.S. farmers were already facing the biggest farming crisis since the 1980s due to uncertainty over trade and tariff policies, fluctuating market prices, loan rates, flood, and other weather events. These factors, largely outside of farmer’s control, result in increased pressures and major stressors often taking a toll on their overall health and well-being.
- Financial: Fluctuating market prices, trade policies, and loan rates that impact a farm’s financial stability
- Production: Insects, weeds, disease, and weather events like floods that affect crops
Resources
Managing Stress
Stress effects on the body
Our bodies are equipped to handle stress, but when it becomes long-term or chronic, it can have serious effects. Read about each system of the body to learn how stress affects your physical health.
What’s the difference between stress and anxiety?
Learn the difference about stress and anxiety.
Healthy ways to handle life’s stressors
When stress becomes challenging to manage, there are tools to help you tackle stress in healthy ways.
Building resilience
We all face trauma, adversity, and other stresses. Here’s a road map for adapting to life-changing situations, and emerging even stronger than before.
"A Kid's Guide to Coronavirus"
Kids have a lot of questions about the pandemic and all of the new changes occurring. Download the e-book which provides answers, from explaining the virus, how it spreads, and what they can do to help. The e-book is also available in Spanish.
"Unstuck!: 10 Things to Do to Stay Safe and Sane During the Pandemic"
In this stressful time, there are losses, uncertainties, and changes, all of which create a lot of feelings. This activity book includes various activities to help tweens and teens manage stress and anxiety, express emotions, and cultivate creativity and gratitude.
Getting help for stress and behavioral health via videoconferencing or telephone session
Tip sheets for first-time users using telehealth options for behavioral health services.
Seeking Help
The Mental Health Crisis – "A Large Problem in the Farm Community"
Podcast episode featuring APA member Holly Roberts, PhD, on the crisis impacting farm communities and the importance of behavioral and mental health.
Ag State of Mind podcast with Holly Roberts, PhD
Episode discusses the impacts of COVID-19 on farming communities and how to seek help mental health care treatment.
How to find help through seeing a psychologist
This brief question-and-answer guide provides some basic information on how psychotherapy can help.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-(800)-273-8255
The lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential emotional support for people in distress. Visit the website for more information.
Farm Aid Hotline 1-800-FARM-AID
The Farm Aid Hotline provides support Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time, or you can get in touch with the Farmer Services team online.
Farmer Resource Network
Farm Aid’s online directory consisting of over 750 organizations that work directly with farmers nationwide on a variety of issues.
Farm Crisis Center
Developed by the National Farmers Union, this page is a list of resources to help farmers with a variety of issues.
Farm State of Mind
Mental health resources from the Farm Bureau.
Additional crisis hotlines and resources
A comprehensive list of hotlines and a list of state psychological associations.
For Mental Health Providers
National Association for Rural Mental Health
An association that serves the field of rural behavioral health and aims to raise awareness and respond to a variety of rural mental health and social concerns.
Impact of COVID-19 on agriculture
From the Farm Bureau, information regarding the impact of COVID-19 within the agriculture community and resources for farmers.
Characteristics and contextual stressors in farmer and agricultural worker suicides in Georgia from 2008–15
Farmers and agriculture workers are at elevated risk of suicide. This study addresses the knowledge gap by examining suicide data of farmers and agriculture workers.
The farmer mental health crisis: Understanding a vulnerable population
A one-hour webinar from APA and Farm Aid explains the mental health crisis among U.S. farmers and how psychologists can help. Experts talk about farmers’ unique stressors and ways to connect with the farming community.
Unique pressures put America’s farmers under stress
APA partnered with the nonprofit Farm Aid to bring attention and resources to farming communities, by educating psychologists on the specific mental and behavioral health needs of the agriculture community—and how to reach farmers.
Improving mental health care by understanding the culture of farming and rural communities
APA and SAMHSA’s Mental Health Technology Transfer Centers (MHTTCs) in the Great Lakes and Mountain Plains developed a webinar series about COVID-19’s impact on farming and rural communities.
Addressing Farm Stress through Extension Mental Health Literacy Programs
Research article detailing Cooperative Extension’s efforts to provide mental health education for farmers and agricultural stakeholders.
APA and psychology’s commitment to addressing farmer stress
APA is committed to addressing farmer stress and using psychology to support the behavioral health needs of America’s agricultural community. For more than a decade, APA’s Journal of Rural Mental Health and the Committee on Rural Health (CRH) have been addressing the behavioral health care needs of rural Americans. In 2019, APA took that work to a new level through a blend of advocacy, public education, training, and partnership cultivation.
- Advocating for Farmers
APA supported the Seeding Rural Resilience Act as well as funding for the Farmer and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN), part of the 2018 Farm Bill. - Training psychologists and behavioral health providers
APA is collaborating with an array of organizations to develop and present trainings on working with the agricultural community to address stress. Training initiatives include a joint APA and Farm Aid webinar on the Farmer Mental Health Crisis and a collaboration with SAMSHA’s Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Networks on a four part series on COVID-19 and farmer stress. - Partnership Cultivation
In addition to partnering with Farm Aid, APA is building relationships with other agricultural advocacy groups and federal offices including the USDA, Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, American Farm Bureau Federation, AgriSafe, and National Farmers Union.
APA teams up with Farm Aid
For a second year, APA teamed up with Farm Aid to address farmer stress. The 2020 Farm Aid Festival featured farmer stories and the important work farmers are doing to help sustain our country. Read these farmer stories and more on the Farm Aid website.
Featured in the festival, APA CEO Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD, and Minnesota dairy farmer Meg Moynihan discussed the stressors facing our nation’s farmers. View their discussion in the video below.