[3] Researchers at the University of Iowa found that farmers, and others in the agricultural trade, had the highest suicide rate of all occupations from 1992 to 2010, the years covered in a 2017 study.

In the years after the New Deal, they say, the United States set a price floor for farmers, essentially ensuring they received a minimum wage for the crops they produced.

[6] In 1985, after Ronald Reagan had been president for four years, the Farm Credit System (FCS) lost $2.7 billion – the largest one-year loss of any financial institution in U.S.

[citation needed] According to the National Rural Health Association (NRHA), farmers' suicide rate is three and a half times greater than that observed in the broader population.

[12] In Oklahoma, specifically, Eric Ramírez-Ferrero (who grew up in Enid) found that "large numbers of people could not keep up with technological progress and have had their expectations of a comfortable life frustrated.

"[7] Zach Ducheneaux, administrator of the Farm Service Agency, said: "Our producers are constantly expected to do more with less, innovate and improve, raise a family, preserve a legacy—and let's not forget feeding and clothing the world while we're at it.

[3] 47-year-old Philip Fetter, of Chelsea, took his own life on July 25, 1982, leaving his wife of 24 years, Norma,[6] to care for ten children on her own, and to cope with overwhelming debt.

[16] On April 3, 1985, Daniel Cutler, of Sioux City, shot himself at an abandoned farmstead on his way back home to his wife, Karen, after visiting family.

[17] On December 9, 1985, Dale Burr, 63, of Lone Tree fatally shot himself, in the presence of a police officer, after killing his wife Emily, 64; John Hughes, 46, a bank president; and a neighboring farmer, Richard Goody.

Moynihan realized the importance of mental health and, in 2021, wrote a grant proposal that resulted in that year's United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) award.

Statz, who had inherited the family farm from his parents,[30] began a part-time role as a meat cutter in a local grocery store, his wife later saying it was to punish himself because he thought he was a failure.

[30] As a direct result of the incident, Roecker and Statz set up Farmer Angel Network, a support group for local families in the farming industry.

"A note in the pocket of his work pants described how depression had robbed him of the hope and pride he had in running a third-generation dairy farm," wrote Elizabeth Williamson.

[36] After decreasing demand for dairy, as customers turned to milk alternatives, a spike in suicides occurred in the state of New York around 2015, resulting in the closure of several hundreds of farms.

[4] After a local farmer took his life in January 2018, Agri-Mark, a large co-operative that was one of his customers, sent its 550 members in the state a list of suicide and mental-health hotline numbers.

This I had learned.— Eric Ramírez-Ferrero, Troubled Fields: Men, Emotions, and the Crisis in American Farming (2005)[7]Brenda Cochran has been a farmer in Westfield since 1975,[39] along with her husband, Joseph.

[42] In 2020, Joe Moore, who runs a 475-acre (192 ha) farm, in Glasgow, went to visit his neighbor who was concerned about the lack of rainfall that summer and being able to grow enough hay to feed his cattle.

"[45] An organization called Sowing Seeds of Hope (SSOH), formed in Wisconsin, connected uninsured and underinsured farmers in seven Midwestern states to behavioral-health services.

"[1] In 2019, John Hanson, who runs an assistance hotline in Nebraska, says that he has received calls late at night from desperate farmers, "including one sitting in his kitchen with a loaded shotgun and the lights out.

Talking, she said, helped her feel less alone.— Eric Ramírez-Ferrero, Troubled Fields: Men, Emotions, and the Crisis in American Farming (2005)[7]As the 52nd executive order signed since his taking office in January 2021, president Joe Biden wanted farmers to have the right to repair equipment and to access to retail markets.

The order looked to broaden competition in several agricultural areas:[46] The National Farmers Union (NFU) called these anti-concentration amendments a "monumental" step.

"After suffering corporate abuse for so many years, it is reassuring that farmers may finally get a level playing field", NFU president Rob Larew said.

"[47] As of August 2021, if a farmer wants to sue a company for anti-competitive behavior under the act, they would need to prove the malpractice hurt not only them but the entire industry.

That creates a very high bar that the Obama rules would have lowered, but the Trump administration withdrew the rules, leaving groups like the Organization for Competitive Markets disappointed.— Bloomberg.com, July 9, 2021[47]"This time seems to be different", Christopher Leonard, author of The Meat Racket, said, referring to the attempt Barack Obama made during his terms in office, albeit with the same Agriculture Secretary (Tom Vilsack).

[47] President of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), Zippy Duvall, said that the group would study the order's details and would work with the administration "to ensure changes are consistent with our grassroots policy, and farmers and ranchers are provided greater flexibility to remain competitive in our growing economy.

"[47] In addition, the USDA announced a plan to invest around $500 million to increase the capacity of meat-processing, with the aim of giving farmers, ranchers and consumers more choices.

For direct assistance, Farm Family Wellness is open 24/7, while IowaCrisisChat.org offers live communication with trained health professionals daily between 9 A.M. and 2 A.M.[48] Two months later, U.S.

Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall announced $500,000 USDA Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network grant to the Kansas Department of Agriculture, with the aim of connecting farmers, ranchers and others in agriculture-centric occupations to mental-health resources.

[10] Also in 2021, Frank King, a self-described "mental-health" comedian who has written for Jay Leno's Tonight Show, spoke to farmers and ranchers during the Montana Farm Bureau Federation convention, drawing on his personal story of depression and suicide (his grandmother and aunt killed themselves).

As part of its five-year study, North Central found that almost 60% of the parents in a survey of 122 farm families had at least mild symptoms of anxiety or depression.