Farmers have until Jan. 31 to participate
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
In many cases, mental health is just as important as physical health and an anonymous online survey by the University of Guelph is inviting farmers in western Canada to be more open about their own emotional well-being.
Survey screenshot
The survey’s purposes include trying “to quantify the prevalence of depression, anxiety, burnout, and resilience in producers across Canada,” and “investigate relationships between producer stress, wellness and resilience.”
“Producers are under a lot of stresses,” said Andria Jones-Bitton, who’s leading the study, in an interview with CBC. “Perhaps they might not always have their resources that are best suited to them in terms of getting help for that.”
Jones-Bitton said data from other parts of the world have shown an increase in suicides in farmers; in India, more than 3,000 farmers committed suicide between January and October 2015. Australia’s National Centre for Farmer Health has launched The Ripple Effect, a platform where farmers can share their experiences.
Stressors can include the disease outbreaks, weather, debt and even family issues. Jones-Bitton said getting farmers to be open about mental health can be a tricky process.
“I think, like many populations, we’re talking about the elephant in the room,” she said. “I find one-on-one, I’ve been fortunate and honoured that a lot of farmers have shared their experiences with me. But I think that’s something that’s much more difficult when we’re talking about sharing that more openly.”
“Unfortunately, in the farming communities, often times mental health issues are thought of as a sign of weakness and tied to a poor work ethic,” she said.
The survey is available online until Jan. 31 and is completely anonymous. Users can choose to withdraw from the survey at any time and those that do complete the survey can enter their names into three draws to win $200.
If you or someone you know feel they’re experiencing mental health issues, the Canadian Mental Health Association can provide resources for getting help.