Grassley bill aims to curb suicides among farmers
GazetteNov 06, 2019
The
That's why Iowa
The bill would implement a voluntary stress-management training program in the agriculture industry and provide
Roughly 91 percent of farmers and farmworkers have financial issues that affect their mental health, and 87 percent are afraid they'll lose their farms, according to a May poll commissioned by the
Last year,
The Seeding Rural Resilience Act would expand on the
A corn and soybean farmer, Grassley said he believes he has a unique understanding of the struggles farmers face.
"I started farming when dad died in 1960, and I think I can say I've been through some difficult times like that myself," he said. "So the bill that I've introduced with
Farmers face long hours, unpredictable weather and yields, isolation and stress, Grassley said. And because they are living in rural communities, they likely lack certain resources, such as a nearby medical professionals for physical and mental needs.
That's why he and Tester included a training component in the proposed legislation.
The bill calls for the Secretary of Agriculture to "establish a voluntary program to train employees of the
Employees of these agencies "deal with farmers on a regular basis, so we want in-service training so they can recognize the signs that farmers under stress, and, if they're under stress and they think it's kind of getting dangerous, they can alert people to help," Grassley said.
For Dr.
"We've been gearing up to provide services for a while now," he said. "And that's a problem. We need to finish with the gearing up part and actually move on to providing the service because farmers are struggling now. So, we need actual services like hotlines and helplines and affordable counseling or free counseling to financially pressed farmers, and we need those services now."
Every day, Rosmann said, he receives calls and emails from farmers who are struggling.
"It's really difficult, and every circumstance a little different for each individual farmer," he said. "We're seeing farmers whose crops have been damaged by flooding or sudden weather changes. Some farmers couldn't even get in to plant their land because of the flooding. The late thaw, and now the early freeze, all of those things are stressors for farmers because they can affect not only their ability to plant their crops, but their yields as well."
Rosmann recalled a farmer he spoke with last spring whose land was in a flood plain along the
"Those grain bins were supposed to help him get by," Rosmann said. "He thought he was going to sell that grain to service his loans, but he couldn't."
Rosmann said the man first thought his crop insurance would cover the damage, but it only covered the grain up until it went into the bins.
"Then he thought maybe his homeowner's insurance policy would cover it, but they said it was a flooding related event and he needed to have flood insurance. So then he went to (the
And, Rosmann said, that's what makes important the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network, which aims to establish a network that connects those in the agricultural community to stress assistance programs, and now this bill by Grassley and Tester.
"We've got a long way to go," he said. "There are not enough behavioral health professionals who understand agriculture communities and the unique stressors they face. So, we need a lot of resources to better train physicians and mental health professionals so they can better help farmers address their unique problems."
The
The Seeding Rural Resilience Act has received praise by farming and mental health organizations across the country, including the
To get help
If you need mental health assistance, or know someone who does, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
Call: 1-800-273-8255
Visit, including online chat: suicidepreventionlifeline.org
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