Ask in Earnest

The Issue

The issue of farming (for the purposes of this website, “farming” includes farming and ranching) and suicide has recently received much-needed and long-overdue attention. Raising livestock and growing food as an occupation is becoming more and more difficult. Though not an exhaustive list, the reasons for this increased stress and difficulty include:

• Unpredictable market prices for crops/livestock
• Widening gap between operating costs and revenue
• Few health care and mental health care resources (especially in frontier states)
• Reluctance to access health and mental health care
• Underinsured or not having health insurance
• Increasing social isolation
• Unpredictable weather patterns (drought, floods, extreme temperatures, etc.)
• Agrarian Imperative Theory. This theory maintains that we have an innate drive to produce goods such as agricultural crops and livestock. When this is threatened, it can put a farmer at tremendous risk for intense stress, depression, and possibly suicide.
• Exposure to substances, insecticides, and even grain dust that can intensely compromise health

This unabated difficulty and stress can lead to a sense of hopelessness and possibly suicide. The purpose of this website is two-fold: 1) to raise the level of awareness of the prevalence of suicide in Montana farm, ranch and agriculture families; and 2) to engage rural populations in a community-based effort of suicide prevention. United, we can make a positive difference and save lives.

Additional readings:

The Huffington Post
The Surprising Reality of Depression and Suicide in Farming

The Guardian

Is Help Finally at Hand for Suicide Crisis on America’s Farms?

CBS News
Farmers in America are Facing an Economic and Mental Health Crisis

CDC Retracts Widely Cited Study on Farmer Suicide Rates

CDC Report

Newsweek
Some farmers have higher suicide rates than military veterans

Huffington Post
Why Farmer Suicide Rates are the Highest of Any Occupation

The Guardian
Why are America's farmers killing themselves in record numbers?

Ten Things a Bushel of Wheat Won’t Buy

Craig Edwards Blog
Cragwards Farming, Photography, etc.