A free confidential helpline has been established to help farmers in Ontario dealing with mental health challenges.
The Farmer Wellness Initiative was created by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, through a partnership between Canadian Mental Health Association and the federal and provincial governments.
Findings from a 2022 survey done by the University of Guelph showed that suicide ideation is over two times higher in farmers than the general population.
And one in four Canadian farmers felt life was not worth living, wished they were dead, or thought of taking their own life in the last 12 months.
Sara Wood is the Director of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. She says her family has dealt with their own struggles while she grew up on her parents’ dairy and crop farm.
She says like many other Ontarians, farmers also worry about inflation, rising interest rates, the high cost of living and running a business.
She says those stressors add up.
"As a farming community we tend to be isolated in more rural settings, where unless you go to the coffee shop to talk the neighbours, sometimes you can go weeks without talking to someone which can just add to it if you are stressed. Having tools how you can access help, or like myself, I find it really important that I have to go work out."
She says there's still a stigma surrounding mental health and the older generation kept things to themselves, but she's encouraging everyone to reach out for help if they need it.
"If things aren't going well, just walk away. Even just take an hour. Yes, it might mean you're going to be an hour later in the barn or in the field, but that one hour to clear your head and talk to someone is worth it. There is nothing wrong with saying that you need help. It is always better to ask for it than to not have that person there the next day."
She says councillors with the Farmer Wellness Initiative have all been trained to understand the challenges of farming and rural landscapes.
"They're equipped with those tools to be able to discuss with that person what they are feeling and how they are feeling. But the biggest tool that they have is you can call from anywhere and you can call at any time of the day when it starts to bother you."
The confidential free helpline is accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in English and French, by calling 1-866-267-6255 or online at farmerwellnessinitiative.ca.
-With files from AM800's Live and Local