New Poll Shows Impacts of Rural Economy on Farmer Mental Health

A strong majority of farmers and farmworkers say financial issues, farm or business problems and fear of losing the farm impact farmers’ mental health, according to a new nationalMorning Consult research poll.

Sponsored by the American Farm Bureau Federation in recognition of May as Mental Health Month, the poll surveyed rural adults and farmers/farmworkers to better understand factors affecting the mental health of farmers, availability of resources, perceptions of stigma, personal experiences with mental health challenges and other relevant issues.

“We all know how stressful farm life can be, and things are even tougher now because of the farm economy. More of us are affected, either directly or by having a friend or family member in distress. This poll proves what we already knew anecdotally: Rural America is hurting not just economically but also emotionally,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall says. “Even as the rest of the economy has boomed, farmers and ranchers are in year six of a widespread commodity-price slump. We can and must do more to address farmer stress and mental health issues in rural America.”

Farmers and farmworkers surveyed said financial issues (91%), farm or business problems (88%) and fear of losing the farm (87%) impact farmers’ mental health. Other factors included stress, weather, the economy, isolation and social stigma.

大多数农村成年人（91％）表示，心理健康对他们和/或其家庭非常重要，而82％的农民/农业工人相同。投票发现，大多数农村成年人都有个人寻求护理（31％）或拥有家庭成员（24％），他们正在寻求心理健康状况。

四个农村成年人（75％）表示，在农业社区中减少耻辱的耻辱，两名农民/农业工人（66％）表示是很重要的。

Large majorities of rural Americans polled agreed that cost, social stigma and embarrassment would make it harder for them to seek help or treatment for mental health conditions.

调查显示，突出了对意识和培训的需求，调查显示，农民和农业工人的可能性比农村成年人不那么有信心，以发现他们能够发现心理健康状况的警告迹象（55％vs.73％）。

早上咨询投票结果的介绍更详细在这里提供.

Farm Bureau is advocating for programs that provide America’s farmers and ranchers with critical support and mental health resources and is urging Congress to fund $10 million for the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network, the level authorized in the 2018 farm bill.