SHEBOYGAN – May is Mental Health Awareness Month and Sheboygan County Farm Bureau is supporting rural residents in looking after their farm neighbors who might be struggling with increased stress.
This week, Farm Bureau volunteers delivered care packages as a part of the organization’s Farm Neighbors Care campaign. The group was joined by Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Randy Romanski.
“Mental wellness is just as important as physical wellness,” said Sheboygan County Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Agriculturist Chair Nicole Laack. “It was an honor to have Secretary Romanski join us today in raising awareness of rural mental health and the Farm Neighbors Care campaign.”
Farm Neighbors Care is a campaign to support our farmers who are facing stress due to low market prices, poor weather and crop conditions, etc. Farming can be an isolating career, especially if other family members work off the farm. That is why it is important to check in on friends, neighbors and family members to gauge how they are doing and offer support and a listening ear.
The campaign asks rural residents to have face-to-face conversations with farmers and agri-business owners.
“For some, this conversation and check-in may be the dose of positivity needed to make it through a tough day,” added Laack.
Studies over the past few decades have consistently found farmers and farmworkers at a higher risk of death by suicide compared to other occupational groups. 91 percent of rural adults say mental health is important to them and their family, 31% of rural adults have personally sought help for a mental health condition, and 24% have a family
When loved ones, neighbors or others you care about are experiencing mental health challenges, they may not even realize it. Visit the Farm Neighbors Care website for tips on how to identify someone who might be at risk.
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