This month marks one year since the son of one of my college classmates took his own life, leaving behind a young child of his own. To my friend’s credit, he hasn’t shied away from talking about his experience. Instead, he has made it his mission to make sure other young people know there are people who care about their well-being. 

Suicide and mental health are difficult subjects that many of us are uncomfortable talking about. But Farm Bureau and other agriculture groups are working to change that by highlighting the resources that are available to farmers who are facing difficult times.

It seems that almost all of us have been touched by the suicide of a friend, family member or acquaintance at some point in our lives. I remember the whispers in my small rural community during the 1980s farm crisis, when financial stress and foreclosures led to a dramatic increase in farmer suicides. Statistics show suicide rates in ag remain more than three times higher than the general population. 

Earlier this year, the family of a central Iowa farmer who committed suicide shared his story with a farm magazine in hopes that other families would learn from his experience and reach out for help. 

Farming can be a lonely profession. A farmer who was feeling overwhelmed summed up the feelings of many during a recent discussion on rural mental health: “I didn’t understand if I was the only one who felt this way. But when I started talking about it, almost instantly I found out I am not the only one.” 

That’s the key message from Farm Bureau’s new Farm State of Mind Checklist, which you can read about in American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall’s column on this page: No one has to weather the storm alone.