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approach and the most
effective approach to

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preventing this particular
virus.

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>> In other health related
news, the number of farmers

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facing significant mental
health challenges has been

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increasing for decades. But
"Here& Now"? Reporter

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Steven Potter has this
story about the efforts of

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state funded programs and
the growth in volunteer

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groups stepping up to meet
the need and help farmers.

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As a warning, the following
story does discuss suicide.

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>> He was always the the
happy guy who had a good

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story to share, and
everybody's like, I never

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would have thought your dad
would have done this.

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>> Growing up in
northwestern Wisconsin,

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where her family has raised
cows and grown crops on the

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same stretch of land since
the 1880s, Jennifer Webster

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remembers her father as a
proud farmer.

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>> I think my dad chose to
farm because he truly

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enjoyed it. He enjoyed
being a steward of the land.

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>> She says. The work was
difficult but rewarding.

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>> Especially like when you
plant the crop, you see it

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through to the growing
season and then you harvest

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it. And he really enjoyed
to to see all of his hard

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work pay off.
>> But over the years

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things changed.
>> He had had a rough

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spring just with how the
farming economy was going.

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He had mentioned to my mom
that farming wasn't fun

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anymore a couple of months
before he had died.

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>> And then her father,
Bryan Webster, made one

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last decision that would
send shockwaves through his

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family and the local
farming community.

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>> He died by suicide,
actually, on our farm in

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August of 2023.
>> While no one expected he

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would take his own life,
her father did have known

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problems with his mental
health problems he was

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trying to solve.
>> He was actually seeking

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medical care for depression.
He was on medication and

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actually was going to go to
therapy. But for whatever

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reason, he couldn't find a
solution to to different

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things that were bothering
him.

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alone in the grief of
losing a farmer and loved

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one to suicide. According
to the federal centers for

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Disease Control. Suicide in
rural parts of America

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increased 46% from 2000 to
2020. That's nearly twice

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the suicide rate of urban
areas. More specifically,

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according to the National
Rural Health Association,

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farmers and agriculture
workers have a suicide rate

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that's 3.5 times higher
than the general population.

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Several individuals,
organizations and

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government agencies are
trying to make sense of

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these heightened suicide
statistics. One of them is

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Karen Endres, who runs the
Farmer Wellness Program for

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the State of Wisconsin Farm
Center.

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>> When farmers don't take
care of their emotional

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wellness, it becomes very
challenging. They're

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isolating. They also
overwork, and it gets to be

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very stressful. The number
one stressor for farmers is

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time management. There's
just not enough time in the

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day to get everything done
that we need to get done to

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take care of our land, as
well as take care of our

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livestock.
as a dairy farmer, Endres

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says that agricultural work
is full of uncertainty.

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>> We don't have a lot of
stability, so that is a

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very large stressor for
farmers is the market

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conditions. And in the
world we are today when we

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just we don't have control
over trade agreements and

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other things, and that can
add a lot of pressure when

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you don't know what your
income will be.

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>> Webster adds that there
are several other stressors,

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like severe weather and
sick animals.

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>> You kind of have to be
able to adjust.

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>> But she says some
farmers are not able to

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adjust and can't cope with
the pressure.

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so they kind of crawl into
a hole. Because farmers are

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very prideful, they think
that they can manage it.

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We're finding more and more
farmers are experiencing

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depression because they're
keeping it all bottled up.

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So it's really hard to
really be able to express

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those and put your pride
aside and say, and raise

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your hand and say, I'm
struggling.

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>> There are state run
programs designed

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specifically for farmers
struggling with their

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mental health.
>> We connect farmers to

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either in-person or
telehealth visits with

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licensed clinical social
workers, counselors

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throughout our state that
are interested in working

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with farmers.
>> Endres says. A 24 over

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seven mental health
helpline, as well as online

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support groups and therapy
vouchers offered through

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the state's Farmer Wellness
Program, have seen a spike

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in interest over the last
few years.

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increase in the volume of
calls, whether that's more

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people being aware of the
program or increased stress

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on our farms. But it's all
of us out there. We're

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dealing in some very heavy
times right now.

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>> Overall, the 24 over
seven farmer helpline has

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seen nearly 750 calls this
year, and the therapy

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voucher system has grown
from about 200 vouchers

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issued in 2021 to 500
vouchers issued this year.

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Farmers are also becoming
more willing to share with

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each other.
groups were up over 50% in

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attendance last year. We
created a new group last

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year just to fill the
demand of people wanting to

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connect, wanting to talk.
>> Aside from the cost of a

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therapist and the
and getting an appointment,

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there's another barrier
from seeking help with

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their mental health. And
that's the stigma behind

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admitting that they need
help in the first place.

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>> They work really long
hours, and a lot of them

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are just you're raised to
be very independent and

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self-reliant.
Southwest Health Behavioral

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Services in Grant County,
says that her client base

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of farmers and their
problems continues to grow.

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>> The biggest ones I
probably see are like the

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depression and anxiety. And
then also, again, kind of

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starting to use substances
to help cope because they

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don't know where else to
turn.

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>> But once farmers do get
some help, things begin to

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improve.
>> Just helping to kind of

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get over that stigma or
that that kind of sense of,

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I'm really hesitant to do
this. You can tell, like

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they're starting to take
care of themselves a little

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bit more, or they're
starting to feel like

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spirits are up a little
more.

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>> We're all working
together to try to help

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farmers understand that
it's okay not to be okay.

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>> Families like the
Websters know that nothing

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will bring their loved ones
back, but they can try to

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help other farmers from
sinking so deep into

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depression and hopelessness
that they end their own

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lives. And that's where
organizations like the

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Farmer Angel Network come
in.

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is an organization that
focuses around farmer to

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farmer suicide prevention.
We are an organization that,

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in western Wisconsin that
really promotes fellowship

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and encouraging
conversations in our

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community around farm
mental health.

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the network, Webster and
others have raised

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awareness about the
struggles farmers face by

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hosting community events
like picnics and educating

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health care providers.
Their goal is to make

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farmers feel seen,
recognized, and appreciated.

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>> One other thing we do is
we do what I call random

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acts of kindness. So we
give gift cards to farmers

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where, especially if you're
a dairy farmer, going out

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for dinner with your family
can be really challenging.

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>> As she and her brothers
and mother Steil at the

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Webster Farm know that help
is needed now more than

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ever.
>> We definitely want to be

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able to give them a sense
of hope that that that

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their life is, is worth
living. Their farm is worth,

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is worth the fight. And
just giving them a sense of

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of hope and opportunity and
providing resources for

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them to help them cope.
them to help them cope.