Farmers are typically thought of as stoic, resilient and able to deal with the many hardships that come their way.
But Josephine Smart, a University of Calgary anthropology professor, says higher suicide rates in rural areas show the need for better services for farmers under stress.
Smart is co-leading a three-year study of the social and economic effects of BSE on Alberta farmers and has spent considerable time talking to farm families.
“As yet I have not directly been told of a suicide directly linked to BSE,” she said.
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But the cumulative stress of the daily challenges of farming, both big and small, could take their toll.
In 2006, the Canadian Population Health Initiative noted a higher suicide rate in rural regions.
It found the highest risk for young rural people under the age of 20. Rural girls were six times more likely than urban girls to commit suicide. Rural boys were four times more likely to do so.
Smart said it can take time for the effects of some stressors to be felt.
For example, drought in northern Alberta in 2002, followed by BSE a year later, resulted in many herd dispersals in 2007.
“People expressed tremendous despair when they said, ‘I am the generation that has lost the family farm,’ ” she said.
“Governments and policymakers have to understand the stress from one single event is not always immediately observable.”
Ken Imhoff, manager of Saskatchewan’s Farm Stress Unit, said counsellors on the province’s toll-free line have noticed recent callers are more intense. There are also more calls than usual from livestock producers.
“Where that’s coming from is people having weathered BSE and a number of them haven’t yet recovered, and now they’re hit with low prices,” he said.
Some are also dealing with drought.
Imhoff described it as a sense of “piling on” and the difficulty coping with so many stress factors.
He said some call just to talk about their situations while others are looking for financial help.
Most who use the service are the farm operators or spouses.
“We’re not a line that attracts youth at all,” he said.
Counsellors trained to handle various situations, including suicide, staff the stress line; all of them are farmers or ranchers.
Smart said farmers and rural people know there are services available to help them, but they don’t always take advantage of them.
Some are concerned about hotlines because they worry they will be recognized, she said. However, Imhoff said he has never heard that concern in the 16 years since the Saskatchewan line began.
Another problem is the use of websites to provide information. Smart said people can’t access it if they don’t have time to surf the internet, have slow dial-up connections or don’t even have computers.
As well, people are embarrassed to be seen picking up printed material about mental health or make appointments with local doctors, Smart said.
She is working on developing a video about stress that could be sent directly to Canadian farm households.
The Saskatchewan farm stress line is available at 800-667-4442. Counsellors are on hand to answer from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday, including holidays.
