Farmers are urged to manage their mental health by staying in contact with people and taking care of themselves
Powerful testimony from two prairie farmers at a House of Commons agriculture committee in Ottawa earlier this month underscore the stress many are under as they try to bring in this year’s harvest.
Sean Stanford from Magrath, Alta., and Megzz Reynolds from Kyle, Sask., were among witnesses addressing the committee’s study of the mental health challenges farmers are facing.
Reynolds, a newer farmer, spoke of watching the 2016 crop be destroyed by a 10-minute hailstorm.
“It was also the first time in my life that I felt like a complete failure. A failure as a farmer, a failure as a spouse, and a failure as a provider for my family,” she told the committee. “It was the first time, and sadly not the last, that I felt my only worth to my family was in my life insurance policy.
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“I would love to sit here in front of you all today and say that things are better, and to say that I’m the only one in Canadian agriculture who has ever felt this way, but to do so would be a lie. We are now struggling with our third year in a row, resulting from weather extremes that sabotage our ability to grow the bushels we need to make a profit, commodity prices that do not come close to covering our expenses and transportation issues that inhibit our ability to pay our bills on time.”
Much of this year’s crop was drought-stressed and now producers are coping with early, heavy snowfall.
Stanford said emotions are running high.
The DoMoreAg Foundation is urging farmers to manage their mental health by staying in contact with people and taking care of themselves.
Stanford said the stigma that comes from seeking help must end. He suffers from anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder from his years as a volunteer firefighter. He uses medications and sees therapists to cope.
“While I may not be different from many Canadians, the industry that I work in makes these conditions a bit harder to deal with,” he said.
Weather uncertainty and isolation are two main factors in creating stress, he said. Resources are not readily available or accessible in rural areas. Wait times for appointments take too long.
Social media sites can help those seeking support but also hurt by subjecting posters to bullying.
Reynolds said many can’t speak out or seek treatment because they are told to be strong.
“We are told that we are not real farmers if we ask for help,” she said.
That attitude is slowly starting to change, but still exists.
Conservative MP for Red Deer-Mountain View Earl Dreeshen said he knew exactly where Stanford and Reynolds were coming from.
“I too farm. Right now we have 80 percent of our crop under snow,” he said.
Joe Peschisolido, the Liberal MP from Steveston-Richmond East, assured the two farmers that they are neither weak nor failures.
“You are, perhaps, the strongest witnesses I’ve ever heard at any committee,” he said. “I commend you for what you’re doing.”
NDP agriculture critic Alistair MacGregor asked what improvements could be made to safety nets to help farmers rebound from situations that cause so much stress.
Stanford said crop insurance doesn’t pay out enough to cover expenses and should be looked at more closely.
Reynolds said AgriStability doesn’t work on her farm because they are too new and trying to expand and the program doesn’t fit that model.
At earlier testimony, Dr. Andria Jones-Bitton, an associate professor at the Ontario Veterinary College who conducted a farmers’ mental health survey in 2015, offered the committee three recommendations:
- federal government support a Canadian network for farmer mental health
- Ottawa provide federal funding for research
- government support for evidence-based training programs in agriculture and at agricultural colleges
Her survey findings are well documented and show a high rate of farmer anxiety, stress, burnout and depression.
She told the committee there is fallout from this beyond the individual farmer.
“We don’t yet have specific estimates of the impacts of mental health on farming outcomes — this is something my team is working on — but extrapolating from what we do know we can expect it to limit farm production and be a major barrier to growth and innovation.”
Animal welfare is also at risk because farmers who are mentally ill often can’t care adequately for their animals, Jones-Bitton said.
The lack of a national strategy for farmer mental health leaves the entire sector vulnerable, and while interest and discussion is growing, she said maximizing resources and avoiding duplication is key.
Participatory action research would provide the information and training programs that farmers would actually use, she said.
“We need to create a trans-disciplinary network across all provinces and territories and produce the resources specific for agriculture delivered by people who know agriculture,” she said.
The committee continues.
