COLUMN: The deadly stress of farming

New York farmers are committing suicide at alarming rates, help is available

By Bob Confer

It is widely-known that military veterans have among the highest suicide rates in our country. Sadly, in any given year, 34 of every 100,000 veterans take their lives. 

Many people understand why they end it all – they saw things overseas that most of us could never imagine, they battled post-traumatic stress disorder, and they could have had disabilities ranging from traumatic brain injury to dismemberment. 

Many reading this column will be surprised to learn that there is a segment of our population that has a suicide rate rivaling that of our struggling veterans – farmers.

The rate of suicide for those who put food on our tables is 44 per every 100,000. For comparison, the rate for the general population is around 14.  

It’s probably mind blowing to most Americans because they have a vision of the farming life that is made of serene, pastoral landscapes, health country living, strong men, and even stronger families.

They know little of the incredible stresses put upon farmers.

First, there’s the weather. They have to hope that Mother Nature accommodates their needs and business cycles and ensures a timely planting and a productive harvest. But, in many years, she’s not very helpful. Consider 2023, when a late-May frost hit vineyards and orchards across the state. Heading into fruiting and harvest time, the outcome of that event showed crop losses ranging up 100%, depending on location and elevation, in 31 counties.  

Then there’s animal disease. Over the past few years, bird flu and mandated responses to it (such as culling entire flocks) have killed off unbelievable numbers of chickens and turkeys throughout the US. The current outbreak began in February of 2022 and, to date, 166 million commercial birds have been killed by or slaughtered and wasted because of it. There is heartbreak had in suffocating birds and then piling up the corpses of what had been months of hard work.   

Farmers are also besieged by the economy. Ten years ago, dairymen were getting $21 per hundredweight for Class I milk. That number remains about the same today. If you were to account for inflation as it’s reported, it should be selling for almost $29 today. None of the inputs these farmers use – from feed to facilities to equipment to labor – have gotten cheaper. It’s a struggle to stay afloat and many don’t: 1,400 dairy farms closed in 2024 alone.    

Then, there’s the opioid crisis. The stereotype is that it’s hitting the cities and suburbs the hardest, but, over the past twenty years, more than a quarter of all farmers or farm workers have abused or been addicted to opioids. It’s easy to see why: Farming is physically demanding work, from heaving hay bales to lifting feed bags to picking vegetables to bending down to milk cows. Back injuries and other aches are common. To work through it, they were prescribed pain killers, which in turn became an addiction.

There you have just four factors of many that make it seem like there’s no hope for farmers. Too often, the odds are stacked against them and there are so many things beyond their control. Seeing the very real chance of losing the farms and homes they love so much — the places that receive their attention, blood, sweat, and tears 24/7/365 — they see suicide as the only way out.

There is help available for those living those dark days, help from people who understand their struggles. NY FarmNet is a free and confidential consulting service available to any farm located in New York State to discuss financial and health issues. They have a hotline at 1.800.547.3276.

www.nyfarmnet.org

I encourage those reading this column who are not farmers or counselors to lend a hand. Outreach and assistance can be done in any number of ways from checking up on your neighbors to supporting local farm stands to buying only local or American-grown produce, meats, and dairy products at the grocery store to writing elected officials about foreign trade and frustrating price controls on milk and foods.

As Paul Harvey said: “And on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, “I need a caretaker.” So God made a farmer.”

It’s time that we, as good citizens, became better caretakers for them.

Bob Confer is a Niagara county writer, businessman, family man, and community servant. He can be reached anytime, Bob@ConferPlastics.com