A farm counselor and former dairy farmer says stress and depression are weighing heavily on many farmers right now.
Randy Roecker tells the Mid-West Farm Report the ag economy is as bad as, if not worse than, it was in the 1980s. “I remember growing up in the 80s, how things changed in the farm crisis of the 80s, and to be honest, I mean, we’re back in that right now again, with the high fuel prices and everything is just spiraling out of control, and the low milk prices is what we’re getting, so we’re back in the same crisis stage, if not even worse. I read an article once. It was saying that this year was going to be apocalyptic, is how they described it, so we’re right back in this same setting again.”
Ending The Family Legacy
Roecker and his family sold the farm after years of financial struggles and depression. He says the decision to sell the farm was one of the hardest decisions of his life. “What I felt like is that I was the last Roecker family member to be on the farm. It was this legacy, and that is what farmers struggle with all of the time. It is this legacy that your father, your grandfather, your great-grandfather- that’s all your family has ever known was farming. That is what I struggled with. When I went through my own depression in 2008-2010, it was extreme what I went through, and that was what I was struggling with is that I was the generation to lose the farm and the legacy of the Roecker family.”
As hard as that was, Roecker says there is life after farming. “I miss the times of being my own boss, but there’s a lot of freedoms that come with having a job in town, and I would suggest to any farmer that’s struggling, not only farmers; this goes for anybody out there too, that there’s always another life out there and sometimes, it’s a better life.”
Turning Experience Into Help For Others
Roecker has overcome his depression and worked to help other farmers cope with mental health issues. He helped get the Farmer Angel Network started after a farmer friend lost his life. “Leon Statz. He lost his life, and so his widow, Brenda, and I were high school friends. So, we were the ones that actually started that in the St. Peter’s Lutheran Church basement. The organization has now grown. There are actually two other branches of it now in Wisconsin already, and we have a board of directors and a committee that’s running it. It’s a 501-C3 non-profit organization right now. I still am very much an advocate of rural mental health, and I know when I go to the different meetings that I attend for agriculture and the dairy industry, a lot of farmers will pull me aside, and they’ll thank me for what we started, and tell me their own struggles on their own farms with their family, and what they’re going through.”
Roecker says many farmers need someone to talk to, even if that someone can’t solve all of their problems. “I carry it home with me, and there are a lot of farmers that reach out to me, and I wish I could do more. I’m there to listen. That is the biggest part of all this, just to be a good listener, and I encourage other farmers out there to check in with your neighbors and just be there for them. I mean, it does so much to have somebody that just cares and listens to your story, even if you can’t financially help them out, just be there for them as a friend, even.”
More Mental Health Resources Are Needed
Resources for helping farmers are being drained, and Farmer Angel Network co-founder says some farm bill-funded programs are drying up. He says the need for properly-trained health care providers in rural America is huge. “There’s such a lack of therapists, counselors, psychiatrists out here in rural America. They all go to the big cities where the money is at, yet rural America is suffering like never before, and when you have to wait to get in to see a counselor or psychiatrist sometimes three months out, I mean, when you’re struggling today, you need help today, not three months out, and that’s what rural America needs is more counselors that understand rural America and the struggles that farmers go through.”
You Can’t Always Work Your Way Out Of A Crisis
Roecker says many farmers try to work even harder to save the farm, which helps keep their minds off of the serious problems they face, but he says you can’t always work your way out of a bad situation. “You basically work yourself into exhaustion. We often think the harder you work, the more problems are going to go away if I work harder. Well, all you do is wear your body out, and I know when I was going through it too, you can’t sleep at night because this keeps going through your mind. Not only are you physically exhausted from working all day, but you become mentally exhausted, and your body and mind just can’t shut down, and what happens is you’re going to start getting sick, and your body is going to start telling you that you’re going to have to slow down.”
Who Do You Call?
There are resources available for farm families that need mental health services. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline is available nationwide. The Wisconsin Farm Center has counseling services available and provides vouchers to pay for the services. The Farmer Angel Network has peer-to-peer support, mental health education, community outreach activities, and connections to mental health service providers.
Note: This interview is part of a special series brought to you by Rural Mutual Insurance. The Mid-West Farm Report Network and Rural Mutual Insurance reminds farmers and their families that physical farm safety and mental wellness go hand in hand.
