In a nearly 5,000-word feature piece, USA Today (3/9, Wedell, Sherman, Chadde) reports, “Farmers are among the most likely to die by suicide, compared with other occupations…a January study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention” concluded. That same study also revealed that “suicide rates overall had increased by 40% in less than two decades.” While suicides have “plagued agricultural communities across the nation,” the Midwest has seen a particular rise. There “extreme weather and falling prices have bludgeoned dairy and crop producers in recent years.” In fact, “more than 450 farmers killed themselves across nine Midwestern states from 2014 to 2018, according to data collected by the USA TODAY Network and the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting.” These suicides also “coincide with the near-doubling of calls to a crisis hotline operated by Farm Aid, a nonprofit agency whose mission is to help farmers keep their land.”
Related Links:
— “Midwest farmers face a crisis. Hundreds are dying by suicide, “Katie Wedell, Lucille Sherman and Sky Chadde, USA TODAY, March 9, 2020