Helping U.S. farmers with mental health

Jun 24, 2019

A digital platform gives producers immediate access to online assistance

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

An online platform is available for farmers facing mental health challenges because of such stressors as planting delays and the ongoing trade wars.

SilverCloud provides users with secure and immediate access to online programs tailored to an individual’s needs. The platform is available to anyone who lives in an area serviced by OSF HealthCare.

The free download consists of seven modules that a user completes on his or her own time. Each module has specific suggestions and techniques that people are encouraged to apply in daily life. At regular intervals, a supporter checks a user’s progress and provides feedback and guidance.

Given the irregular hours farmers work, having access to an online form of mental health support is important, said Drew DeSutter, a producer from Woodhull, Ill., who has downloaded the program.

“This is at night before you go to bed you can work on it (or) if you’re sitting in the tractor and you have some down time,” he told WQAD. “You come home, and I think you’re a better person. We take care of our crops, we take care of our livestock, we should take care of our mental health as well.”

The Illinois Farm Bureau is also taking steps to address mental health in the ag industry.

The Adams County Farm Bureau in Quincy, Ill., is working with the Suicide Prevention Coalition to develop TV and print ads.

Putting important information in the right places could help farmers reach out for help, said Shawn Valter, manager of the Adams County Farm Bureau.

“In times of crisis, we want them to be able to turn to the Farm Bureau to say, ‘I need help,’ and we can point them in the right direction,” he told WBGZ. “We can put that in our local Farm Bureau newspapers that go out to the farmers.”

Farms.com has reached out to U.S. producers for tips on how they manage their mental health.

Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.