…and on the eighth day God created the horse in perfect image, to romp, graze, gallop, play, and make manure wherever it darn well pleases, in divine grace.
Whether you know it or not, there is a serious issue with farmers committing suicide in our country and in the state of Pennsylvania.
Statistics have been released by the US Centers for Disease Control that indicate male farmers are committing suicide at twice the rate of all working-age males.
PA Governor Tom Wolf has created a task force that has data showing farmers are part of an at-risk segment within an overall population.
The US Centers for Disease Control released data from 2016 showing that farmers’ rates for suicide came in at 43.2 per 100,000 compared to 27.4 per 100,000 for all other working males.
The CDC’s report stated that suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US. In 2017, in the state of PA, 2,023 persons committed suicide, up from previous years.
The PA Farm Bureau has attempted to address this issue by asking its members whether they are aware of any farmers committing suicide locally on their farms, but it appears that people are reluctant to even broach the subject.
Both agriculture officials and state legislators say that mental health issues and suicide have emerged as problems affecting local farming communities and the ag industry overall.
Discussions have been held in Beaver County, PA, to begin to address the issue.
Consumers should be aware that farmers are human beings who get up at 4am every morning to go out to do difficult farm chores. Milking 50 to 100 head of cows or more twice a day, every day, is hard work. The cows keep producing milk no matter what, and their udder bags can become very bloated if they are not milked on schedule.
Cows are living, breathing mammal-beings who eat a lot of food, make a lot of manure that needs cleaned out of the barn, and who need correct veterinary care and medicine. This all adds up to money and time.
Cows have 4 stomachs, any one of which can malfunction on a random, quiet, sunny Tuesday afternoon. Their calves get stuck in the birth canal or are too big to pass through, and this again adds up to money and time.
The farmers also have farm machinery to pay for, insure and maintain, in addition to plowing ground for crops, paying for the seed, weed control or cultivating, harvesting, and hauling it to the feed mill.
Farmers depend greatly upon the whims of Mother Nature and the weather. If winter is slow to leave, the fields are not tillable or passable. Try getting a stuck tractor out of a muddy field.
Plowing, even the modern chisel-style, takes fuel and machinery, along with many hours of planting time. Long after you and me have gone to sleep for the night, many-a-farmer is out plowing or planting by the light of the moon. Their lonely equipment lights emanate out into the inky darkness, their only company the Earth’s natural satellite and their faithful mechanical contraption droning on hour after solitary hour.
If seeds get planted but then it rains too much, the seeds can rot right in the ground and the farmer has to start all over again.
The growing crops coming up also depend heavily on the weather. Proportionate amounts of sun and rain must combine to allow them to reach their optimum harvest times. Too little rain causes crops to wither up and die.
Markets can cause upset for the farmer, also, when prices per bushel on commodities drop to where it isn’t profitable to even bother bringing the tractor out of the shed to plant.
Try living on those facts and figures for a year or two.
Financial situations are only one part of an overall state of affairs or circumstances.
Government regulations creeping in regarding methane from cows or manure disposal issues can cause problems, also.
All these agents of over-work, mounting debts, bad weather and low yields, low commodity pricing, and no one to talk to about any of that all contribute to the pressure and anxiety.
Regarding farmers as just the anonymous man or woman who chose to do this for a career does not take into consideration the state of the farmer as a human being. People have thoughts, feelings, goals, and opinions and they are no different from you.
Looking at a farming operation from just a business perspective also excludes the human factor.
The human factor is at both ends of the ag industry: the farmer who makes it all happen and the consumer who benefits from the hard work by having all of the wonderful food placed into the supermarkets for them.
Health officials state that talking about mental health shouldn’t be an embarrassment, a negative stigma or a stressor, and that asking for help from a mental health professional is not shameful.
It shows strength to be self-aware and realize things aren’t the same or that control may be slipping, and it also takes strength to have the motivation to be honest in assessing a current condition and events in someone’s life.
Farm families are not alone in their struggles; there is probably not one fellow farmer or friend in their community who wouldn’t try to help in some way, even if it is just talking and comparing trials and tribulations.
Consumers should be on high alert, especially those who live in big cities. Your food supplies could be at risk.
The dairy industry has been steadily slumping since the 1970’s as product consumption has fallen by 2% each year. Dean Foods and Borden both filed for bankruptcy in recent months.
Millenials and “Gen-Y-Bother” do not consume dairy products the way young people did in the 1930’s and 1940’s.
These groups consume 550% more dairy-free beverages, 57% more Tofu, 125% more sushi, and 138% more hummus than previous generations. No steak and potatoes here.
By 2021, non-dairy beverages will make up 40% of the US “milk market.”
Websites such as “godairyfree.org” promote “healthy diets of non-dairy products.”
Dairy marketing groups are rallying to combat the negative sentiments attached to milk, such as environmental concerns about methane and links to health risks.
Starbucks Coffee just announced a recent shift away from dairy to non-dairy, but I’ll put up with some cow farts any day of the week and twice on Sunday than to partake of any kind of beverage at a Starbucks Coffee.
Consumers are being misled about non-dairy beverage-benefits, along with health concerns and nutrition, and the dairy industry is becoming innovative in providing energy, health, and comfort counter points by showcasing milk as a high source of calcium, protein, vitamins and minerals.
Milk does have better nutrition components and is less costly. It still goes better for home cooking in the making of mashed potatoes, birthday cakes, or pancakes than almond ‘milk.’
Just remember that there but for the grace of God go you, and God watches those who take things for granted.
As family farms go insolvent and rising costs shove the farmer right out of the industry, you may be wondering what happened to farm stands, farmers’ markets, and home-grown produce raised in America. Overpopulation and urban sprawl use up farm lands for housing developments, and this also contributes to loss of ag commodities.
Increased importation of farm and ag products we raise right here in America from foreign governments is never a good idea, in my opinion.
Conspiracy theorists get it: Control the food, control the people.
No farmers, no food. No farms, no food.
What happens when that foreign government gets mad at us? What happens if all the trucks stop running?
Please pray for our American farmers and the good of the United States of America, that we will always be the land of plenty, able to sustain and feed our growing populations, and that farmers have peace of mind, security in the markets, and they are held in safekeeping right on their own family farms.
…..Just sharin’ with you what’s been on my mind this week.
Suicide occurs when the individual feels there is no way out of a situation. No one should ever have to feel that way, that there is no way out, and it may help to know there are others out there who are also going through tough times.
Sharing stress, grief, and unusually long strings of bad luck can help, and finding something positive or happy to share can also help. Guidance is available, and having a support system of family or fellow farmers is valuable.
The PA suicide hotline is: (800)-273-8255.
Leaving you to ponder these very important points that include your future and the future of your posterity, and the posterity of the USA to the immortal words of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, “Happy Trails to You.”