Anxiety disorders among pig farmers in Beauce a growing concern, says regional health authority

Producer support network and health board seek to create ‘safety net’ for farmers

Many farmers in the pork industry are feeling distress across Quebec. (Marika Wheeler/Radio-Canada)

The death of a pig farmer in Beauce, Que., has pushed health groups in the region to raise awareness about mental health among workers in the pork industry.

Au cœur des familles agricole (ACFA), a psychosocial support network for producers, contacted most of the 550 pig farmers in the region from February to April to inquire about the state of their mental health and offer them help.

“We were made aware that there had been a suicide within the pig farming community,” said social worker Alexandra Lapointe, who has been meeting producers for more than two and a half years in the farming community in the Chaudière-Appalaches region.

“We really wanted to make sure it did not have a contagion effect,” she said.