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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorgan Lehmann, left, stands next to her brother Josh Lehmann in an undated handout photo. Josh died by suicide in October 2023 at the age of 20. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Handout – Morgan Lehmann (Mandatory Credit)<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was just a cowboy through and through,\u201d Morgan Lehmann said in an interview from her family\u2019s ranch northeast of Saskatoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had talked about maybe getting him some help, but he definitely was more cautious and leery of reaching out.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t want to be seen as anything less than tough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Josh took his own life in October 2023. He was 20.<\/p>\n
The Mental Health Commission of Canada says farming and ranching are considered two of the most stressful occupations in the country. It\u2019s a living that tests the hardiest of souls.<\/p>\n
Cynthia Beck, with SaskAgMatters Mental Health Network, said producers\u2019 livelihoods largely depend on what they can\u2019t control: weather, markets, trade disputes and government policy decisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you feel like you have no control over what\u2019s happening in your business, in your personal life, then that causes deteriorations in cognitive functioning,\u201d Beck said.<\/p>\n
Merle Massie of the Do More Agriculture Foundation said there\u2019s been higher-than-anticipated numbers of farmers phoning for help, but added that may not be all bad news.<\/p>\n
The increase could be due to more people feeling comfortable talking about their mental health, she said, adding there\u2019s been a change in attitudes. It\u2019s now OK to seek help instead of toughing it out.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Farmers have told me), \u2018For too many years, we didn\u2019t talk about this and not talking about it has definitely not solved the problem,’\u201d Massie said.<\/p>\n
Briana Hagen, CEO of the Canadian Centre for Agricultural Wellbeing, said more men need to open up about discussing mental health, because women end up shouldering a heavier burden if they don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Hagen co-authored a recent study from the University of Guelph that found women farmers are at higher risk for mental-health struggles.<\/p>\n
The study, which surveyed 74 farmers in Ontario, says women reported having heavier workloads because they\u2019re juggling farm work with another job or taking care of the family.<\/p>\n
It also found it was on women to find mental-health supports for their families or partners.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need (men) to be able to talk about their feelings, but we also need them to realize that they should be active participants in learning about mental health as well,\u201d Hagen said.<\/p>\n
Help is a phone call away.<\/p>\n
Various provinces have had stress lines for producers to call about issues they\u2019re dealing with.<\/p>\n
In February 2025, the Canadian Centre for Agriculture Wellbeing launched a national line. Most farmers can now call that line but some provinces continue to operate their own.<\/p>\n
For Morgan Lehmann, the years since her brother\u2019s death have been an emotional balancing act.<\/p>\n
She chooses to remember the positives while not forgetting his struggles.<\/p>\n
She and Josh\u2019s friends have been running an annual fundraising roping event in his honour, with proceeds to the SaskAgMatters Mental Health Network.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s event is set for next month. She said some wear yellow feathers in their hats to signify they\u2019re a safe person to talk to about mental health.<\/p>\n
Those who wear the feathers are referred to as a \u201cpick-up man,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cRodeo athletes aren\u2019t seen as weak or less-than if they take the help of a pick-up man,\u201d Lehmann said.<\/p>\n
\u201c(The idea is) to either see and take the hand of a pick-up man when you need it, or to be a pick-up man to the people around you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The national farmer crisis line is 1-866-327-6701 and Canada\u2019s suicide crisis helpline can be reached by calling or texting 988.<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Josh Lehmann was a cowboy from Rosthern, a tiny town near where the North and South Saskatchewan rivers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498098,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[103,61,60,410,411],"class_list":["post-498097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498097\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}