The national study invites farmers and ranchers from all commodities and regions to share their experiences
Researchers are encouraging Canadian farmers to participate in a mental health survey.
The National Survey of Farmer and Rancher Mental Health in Canada (take the survey in French here) aims to understand experiences related to stress, anxiety, depression, burnout, resilience, and coping.
It’s the third survey of its kind conducted by Dr. Andria Jones, a professor in the department of population medicine at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College. The Canadian Centre for Agricultural Wellbeing is providing additional support.
“The survey is open to all farmers (and others in ag) across Canada from any commodity group,” Jones told Farms.com. “If you’re a farm worker or a student but still work on a farm, the survey is open to you too.”
The survey is open until the end of March.
It will ask participants questions like how often they’ve felt sad, down or depressed in the last two weeks. There’s also questions about stressors they experience on the farm like weather, government, and workload.
In the background, Dr. Jones and her team use proper tools to ensure the answers farmers give are properly assessed.
“We have validated psychometric scales to look at a variety of mental health outcomes,” she said. “People taking the survey can be confident we’re using legitimate tools.”
Dr. Jones first ran a national farmer mental health survey in 2016.
That survey of more than 1,100 farmers showed 45 per cent of respondents experienced high levels of stress.
She conducted another survey in 2021.
More than 1,200 producers took the survey, which discovered 76 per cent of farmers were experiencing high levels of stress.
“That survey obviously took place in the middle of a global pandemic,” Jones said. “So, it was difficult to make direct comparisons between the two surveys.”
The goal is to conduct the national survey every five years to compare results from previous ones, Jones added.
Her initial work related to farmer mental health started in 2015 and she discovered a lack of research about the topic.
Fast forward to 2026 and there’s progress, she said.
“It has become much more common to see farmer mental health discussed,” she said. “Fortunately, we’re seeing stigma reduction, and we’re seeing a dialogue about mental health in the ag community much more regularly than we did a decade ago.”
But gaps are still present.
Whether it’s a lack of tailored supports, or overall access to resources, farmers still face multiple barriers when trying to access mental health support.
“We’d heard previously that farmers were reluctant to use mental health resources because the person on the other end of the line didn’t understand the uniqueness of farm life. A farmer can’t just take two weeks off,” Jones said. “That’s getting better but there’s always more we can do on that front. Finances can also be a barrier. I’d love to see more opportunities for farmers to access mental health care without some of those barriers in place.”
Once the researchers have the responses and date they need from the 2026 survey, the results will be shared broadly, Jones said.
Anyone with questions about the survey can email Dr. Jones or call her at (519) 824-4120, ext. 54786.
If you or anyone you know in ag requires targeted mental health support, multiple resources are available.