QUINCY (WGEM) – A wave of anxiety towers over farmers across the country \u2014 and Brent Pollard knows it all too well. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to get the work done. And when you can\u2019t because… you feel like everything is beyond your control, it\u2019s disheartening,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
For seven generations, Pollard\u2019s family has farmed and raised livestock in Winnebago County, Illinois. <\/p>\n
Pollard returned to the farm in 2005. As he took over the operation, what he thought was normal stress became unmanageable. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have a generalized anxiety disorder that, in the past, could make it so that everything on the farm could overwhelm me to the point that it would just paralyze me,\u201d he told a WGEM reporter.<\/p>\n
Pollard is far from alone. Farmers across the country wrestle with mental health. Sadly, many ultimately die by suicide. <\/p>\n
Data<\/a> from the National Rural Health Association indicates the suicide rate for farmers is 3.5 times higher than the general population.<\/p>\n According to statistics from the CDC, the suicide rate for farmers, ranchers and agricultural managers sits at 52.1 (per 100,000) among males \u2014 well above the average of 32.<\/p>\n Several factors are driving the epidemic: long work hours, rising input costs, debt, an isolated work setting and stigmas around mental healthcare. <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not rewarded in our society either… to say that, \u2018Well, I\u2019m deficient in this,\u2019 or \u2018This isn\u2019t quite up to par,\u2019\u201d Pollard said. \u201cAnd we need to accept who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n On top of it all, the weight of expectations can feel suffocating for many farmers. <\/p>\n \u201cIs the farming legacy going to just disappear, of my family, if I make one bad move tomorrow? And that adds another level of anxiety or worry to us as farmers,\u201d Pollard explained.<\/p>\n It\u2019s an uncertainty Barbara Baker Chapin, director of development for Transitions of Western Illinois and chair of the Adams County Suicide Prevention Coalition, has seen before.<\/p>\n \u201cThey can do everything right in terms of planting and caring for the crops… And then things out of their control can absolutely destroy everything that they\u2019ve worked so hard to do,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Baker Chapin and Pollard both worry that recent changes in policy, like President Trump\u2019s decision<\/a> to lift tariffs on 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef, will only add to the mental strain farmers face. <\/p>\n \u201cUncertainty is the name of the game right now for us as farmers, and that can\u2019t do anything but hurt farmers\u2019 mental health because it\u2019s another thing that we can\u2019t control that\u2019s just out there as an additional factor, on top of our local markets and the weather,\u201d Pollard said, adding, \u201cThose uncontrollables, they do nothing to help… your anxiety or depression.\u201d <\/p>\n As farmers return to the field this September, Pollard hopes to erase the stigma around mental health.<\/p>\n \u201cWe work really hard and put a lot of work in. And if we\u2019re willing to put in that much time and effort on our farms, why shouldn\u2019t we put that much effort into our physical and mental health?\u201d<\/p>\n Pollard says fellow farmers often feel more comfortable confiding in each other at first.<\/p>\n \u201c(Farming) is hard work and (we think) we can plow through anything that happens in our lives. And there are just some things that aren\u2019t that way in life. And you need to be willing to ask for help when those situations arise,\u201d Pollard said.<\/p>\n Baker Chapman hopes families will remind their loved ones they\u2019re not alone. <\/p>\n \u201cTo initiate the conversation is important. You know, to indicate: \u2018I\u2019m worried about you,\u2019 she said, adding, \u201dEven in your darkest times, there is hope. And sometimes we can\u2019t see that when we\u2019re in the midst of it.”<\/p>\n Anyone experiencing a mental health emergency can call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.<\/p>\n Farm-specific resources include:<\/p>\n The SIU School of Medicine 1-833-FARM-SOS Hotline<\/a>Illinois Extension\u2019s mental health voucher program<\/a>NCFR Stress Assistance Resources<\/a> for Farmers<\/p>\n