Breaking the silence: Agriculture Wellness Ontario works to prevent suicide in farming communities

By Galen Simmons

For farmers, the pressures of work and home are often impossible to separate.

Weather, commodity prices, livestock health and finances can all weigh heavily on a farm family, while long hours and geographic isolation can make it difficult to connect with others or seek help when those pressures become overwhelming.

Agriculture Wellness Ontario (AgWO) is working to change that by providing mental-health education, counselling and community support designed specifically for Ontario’s agricultural community.

“Our programs and services are not only ag-informed, they’ve been co-constructed with actual farmers and industry partners to ensure that we’re actually providing mental-health education and support that is accessible, relevant and applicable to those who we are aiming to serve,” said Avery Dixon, program outreach coordinator for AgWO’s Guardian Network.

That agricultural focus is particularly important when it comes to suicide prevention.

Dixon said research shows farmers are twice as likely as the general, non-farming population to experience suicidal thoughts or die by suicide. At the same time, stigma can prevent people from acknowledging they are struggling or asking for help.

According to Dixon, the 2021 National Survey of Farmer Mental Health out of the University of Guelph found 40 per cent of Canadian farmers and producers would not be comfortable seeking professional help, largely because of concerns about judgement from others.

“I think there’s often this perception in farming that your worth as a person is tied to the productivity of your farm,” Dixon said. “So, it’s a really vulnerable thing to say to someone, ‘Hey, I’m not doing well. I’m struggling to keep up with chores, I’m struggling financially, I’m going through family difficulties,’ whatever that situation might be.”

Instead of inviting others in, Dixon said farmers may keep those struggles to themselves, compounding feelings of isolation and burdensomeness.

Through the Guardian Network, AgWO is attempting to build supports directly into agricultural communities. More than 500 Guardians have been trained across Ontario through a full-day, farmer-focused suicide-prevention program.

Those volunteers learn to recognize signs someone may be struggling, start difficult conversations and encourage that person to seek professional support.

“Guardians are the bridge between a farmer or an ag community member who is struggling and professional support,” Dixon said.

One place that bridge can lead is AgWO’s Farmer Wellness Initiative, which provides farmers, farm workers and their families – including international agricultural workers living in Ontario – with free, unlimited counselling 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Counselling is available in English, French and Spanish by phone, virtually and, when available, in person. The professionals providing the service receive specialized training to understand the pressures and realities of agriculture.

That means a farmer doesn’t necessarily have to sacrifice several hours during a busy planting or harvest season to travel to and from an appointment.

“It’s about meeting farmers where they’re at,” Dixon said. “Most farmers don’t have that potentially up to two hours a day to drive to an appointment, attend the appointment and drive back. So, calling from your tractor can make all the difference in the world for some people.”

AgWO also offers education through In the Know, a four-hour mental-health literacy workshop developed specifically for agriculture, and shorter Growth Workshops covering subjects including mental health and agriculture, preparing for uncertainty and navigating stress.

While those programs can give farmers tools to look after their own mental health, Dixon said education can also prepare neighbours, friends, relatives and other members of agricultural communities to recognize when somebody else needs support.

“If you notice a community member doesn’t seem like themselves for whatever reason, don’t shy away from having those hard conversations,” Dixon said. “For a lot of people, it can be lifesaving.”

Sometimes that support can be as simple as checking in or stopping by to lend a hand with chores.

For AgWO, breaking down stigma means making conversations about mental health as acceptable in agriculture as conversations about weather, crops, livestock or equipment.

“Normalizing that experiencing a mental-health concern doesn’t make you weak, it doesn’t make you a bad farmer, and teaching people what supports are available to them is so important,” Dixon said. “The better we get at understanding, as a community, mental health, having candid, open conversations about it and recognizing when someone needs support, I think the healthier and more prosperous our industry will become as a whole.”

More information on AgWO, its Farmer Wellness Initiative and upcoming workshops is available through the organization’s website.