News

Farmer mental health remains a concern

A Texas beef producer and public speaker says there are still farmers and ranchers dealing with mental health issues, even though market prices have helped with some of the financial strain.

Matt Rush says the uncertainty remains. “You know, we do have increased commodity prices right now. We did see a swing up in those things over the winter, yet at the same time, the majority of the country is sitting in a drought. We’re still uncertain about what’s going to happen in new administrations, so we still have all of these external pressures.”

Rush says 2020 and the pandemic brought stress to everyone, and farmers are usually the last people to seek help. “Those of us in ag, we’re like hey, we get this. We deal with the stress every year, right? But, in ag, we deal with such a big burden that we carry and we’ve got to be able to handle that. We’ve got to be able to address that in ourselves.”

Rush says farmers should not be afraid to reach out for help.

Rush spoke to Brownfield at the Dairy Calf and Heifer Association conference in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Add Comment

Your email address will not be published.


 

Stay Up to Date

Subscribe for our newsletter today and receive relevant news straight to your inbox!