OPINION: climate change impacting farmers’ mental health

WELLINGTON COUNTY – Guilt. Anguish. Hopelessness. Panic. These are just a few of the thoughts running through farmers’ heads as they’ve dealt with catastrophic weather events over the past few years.

Through a series of interviews with 36 Ontario farmers, Rochelle Thompson, a PhD candidate in the University of Guelph’s (U of G) population medicine department, has been able to learn about farmers’ experiences first hand.

“I heard about the overwhelming, all-encompassing nature of the extreme weather event crises,” Thompson said. “A lot of people don’t even know what the first step is in situations like that.” 

Thompson interviewed the farmers between March 2023 and May 2024. All had experienced some sort of catastrophic event associated with climate change, including prolonged droughts, barn collapses in a natural disaster and disease outbreaks. 

“There’s a lot of uncertainty for people after events like these,” Thompson explained. “Some question how many extreme weather events they can withstand before it becomes unreasonable to keep farming.” 

Thompson asked about their experience and how it impacted their mental health, while exploring the factors helping them find resilience in the face of disaster. 

While past farmer mental health research has relied on quantitative data, qualitative provide a deeper understanding of what farmers face.

Surveying Canadian farmers’ mental health 

This is not the first time U of G researchers have explored the mental health of Canadian farmers.  

Thompson’s PhD advisor, Dr. Andria Jones, has performed two large national surveys over the past 10 years, collecting responses from thousands of farmers across the country. Former Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) researcher Dr. Briana Hagen also played a significant role in bringing these surveys to life. 

“When you look at the stressors associated with farming, a lot of them are outside of a farmer’s control,” says Jones, a professor and director of well-being programming at OVC. “Climate change is yet another stressor that can contribute to feelings of uncertainty, which can lead to helplessness and hopelessness. Our research aims to help farmers prepare and adapt.” 

The first survey, released in 2016, found 45 per cent of more than 1,100 respondents experienced high stress, 58% had varying levels of anxiety and 35% reported depression.  

Those numbers only worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the second survey reported 76% of farmers were experiencing moderate or high perceived stress.

The data collected in these surveys have been invaluable in guiding mental health resources in organizations across Canada. Jones says the one-on-one interviews that Thompson and Hagen have conducted over the years have strengthened the personal connection to the project. 

“It puts a human element on it,” Jones explains. “You can see a bullet list of stressors that farmers are experiencing, but it’s not until you hear it in someone else’s words that you can really get a true sense of what’s happening.” 

Thompson agrees, adding it’s difficult to capture these sentiments with just numbers. 

One respondent described “a sinking feeling” when considering how to go forward after a climate event. Another was concerned about their cows, who were counting on the farmer to find a solution. 

“For God’s sake, just rain,” one farmer said. 

Along with pulling back the curtain on what everyday farmers experience, Jones adds it also breaks down the divide between the public and where their food comes from.  

“We’re putting human faces on things,” she says. “If the public doesn’t know about farmers and where food comes from, and the issues and challenges farmers are experiencing, how are we going to address food safety, security and sovereignty?”

Recruiting farmers for next mental health survey 

The third iteration of the Survey of Farmer Mental Health in Canada kicked off in January and will explore how mental health has changed over the past decade, particularly as farmers have dealt with challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic and increasingly volatile weather.  

“There are a lot of new programs that have come out to support farmer mental health and efforts to talk more about challenges, so we’re looking forward to seeing if there’s any difference in our next survey,” Thompson says.  

Jones and her team are also exploring the mental health of equity-deserving populations in the farming community, including Black-, LGBTQ+ and women farmers. Jones and Dr. Marsha Myrie are co-hosting a symposium for Black farmers on Feb. 26, offering participants the opportunity to provide feedback on research, network and work together on implementing solutions.

WFA

Wellington Federation of Agriculture (WFA) president, Barclay Nap, shared his opinion on the matter with the Advertiser.

“Farmers deal with a lot of challenges that lead to stress. It’s a profession where anything can happen and we have to work with it or around it,” Nap said. 

He listed stressors:

– disease in plants or livestock;

– increase of input costs;

– machinery breakdowns;

– sudden change in market prices;

– wildlife damage and predation; and

– building repairs and injuries.

Weather has been one of those challenges but it has become more unpredictable, Nap explained.

“Sometimes the layers of stress become overwhelming and we are still expected to do our tasks and the additional ones that pap up,” he said. 

Nap expressed his gratitude towards Thompson and Jones for bringing the discussion of farmers mental health to light. 

“The increased awareness of farm stress has led to programs offered to help farmers who can reach out when it becomes too much to carry,” he said.

Supports such as the Farmer Wellness Initiative, Agriculture Wellness Ontario, Do More Agriculture Foundation and more.

“There is still work needed in bringing awareness and still work needed in understanding that you are affected,” Nap added.

“You might think you have to do and deal with everything, but you matter and it’s important to know your body and mind to keep healthy.”