The UF/IFAS Center for Public Issues Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (PIE Center) is discussing the effects of mental health among rural and farm worker populations in the center’s new podcast, Science by the Slice.
The podcast explores stories, research, and testimonials from those who understand the impact of mental health in agriculture: Marshal Sewell, Angie Lindsey, and Anna Scheyett.
Sewell, a field sales representative for Bayer Crop Science and the son of a strawberry producer, has first-hand experience with the struggles faced by farmers.
During harvest season of Sewell’s senior year, his family’s strawberry crop succumbed to anthracnose, a disease that prevents crops from absorbing nutrients in the soil.
This event led to a complete loss of the harvest and cost the family their entire crop investment. The next morning, Sewell’s father made the decision to take his own life.
“I remember my mom telling me, after it all happened, that it’s up to us to decide what we make of the situation,” Sewell said. “We can sit around and let it build up or we can try and do something with it.”
While Sewell has seen a push for more access to mental health resources in rural areas, he believes real change will come from informed resources on the specific issues experienced among rural and farm worker populations, such as concerns about fluctuating crop prices, trade deals, and weather issues.
Sewell believes having conversations about mental health between friends and family members is the first step in the right direction. He hopes the topic will become destigmatized as more people discuss their battles with mental health, and as others actively listen to those who have struggled with this issue.
“We work in an industry that is so dictated by the environment, weather, trade and tariffs,” Sewell said. “A lot of the time, it is completely outside our control.”
For Sewell, breaking the stigma around mental health is a goal he continuously works toward. He hopes his story will encourage others to have open conversations about mental health within their communities.
University of Florida’s Department of Family Youth and Community Science (FYCS) faculty member and UF’s point of contact for the Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN), Angie Lindsey frequently works with communities that have been affected by natural disasters.
She also collaborates with other Extension professionals to share resources with these communities throughout the year to lessen the impact of natural disasters.
“After Hurricane Irma, as the point of contact for EDEN, a lot of Extension agents were contacting me for resources,” Lindsey said. “One of the things I was getting requests for was mental health resources.”
Lindsey heard stories of Extension agents who checked on farmers and stakeholders after the storm and learned some of these individuals were suffering severe mental health impacts after their properties were extremely damaged.
She recalls Extension agents feeling unequipped to handle a mental health crisis such as this.
“Luckily, I worked just a few doors down from Heidi Radunovich who is a clinical psychologist,” Linsdey said. “I needed her help.”
UF FYCS Associate Professor Heidi Radunovich worked with Lindsey to help make mental health resources available to communities in need. After Hurricane Irma, the two continued working together and created Disaster Mental Health Workshops which included the National Council of Behavioral Health’s Mental Health First-Aid Program.
“We know what to do in the time of a hurricane or natural disaster,” Lindsey said. “But you also need to plan for the mental health impact of it as well.”
Most recently, Lindsey worked with the Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety to provide Mental Health First Aid Training to 80 Extension professionals and agricultural employees throughout the southeast.
“COVID-19 has created additional challenges for Extension agents,” Lindsey said. “The online Mental Health First-Aid trainings were created as another avenue for Extension agents to learn about mental health and be better prepared to serve communities in need.”
Dean of the School of Social Work at the University of Georgia (UGA) Anna Scheyett’s recent research examines stress factors and suicide in farmworker populations.
Scheyett became involved with this research when a colleague showed her a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The report showed high rates of suicide among farm workers in rural areas. Scheyett’s colleague was distraught and asked why the rates were so high. Scheyett did not know the answer, but she knew how to find out.
Scheyett was able to find answers using a CDC reporting system that contained police and medical examiner notes for deaths in the state of Georgia.
She used these documents to understand the circumstances that led to individuals taking their own lives. Her findings became part of a larger conversation around mental health awareness in farmworker populations.
Scheyett’s research also led to collaborations between researchers and outreach programs to help communities in need of resources.
Scheyett’s research uncovered potential internal and environmental factors that can impact mental health. She hopes this research will be used to increase mental health awareness and create points of intervention in these communities.
“We need to get this information to farmworkers from sources they’re going to trust.” Scheyett said. “ They’re not going to trust the middle-aged lady from the university, but they’re going to trust the head of their commodity committee.”
Scheyett also acknowledged the unique struggles faced by farmworkers and expressed her gratitude for their role in providing a secure food source to the general population.
“Similar to the way we thank veterans for their service because they have kept us safe, I think saying that to farmworkers more might be really helpful,” Scheyett said. “To let them know they’re not alone, and that we see what they do, and that we know we literally owe our sustenance to them.”
To learn more about rural mental health research and stories, tune in to the PIE Center’s newest episode of Science by the Slice on Wednesday, May 26th!
For immediate mental health needs, please contact one of these national hotlines:
Farm Aid Hotline: 800-FARM-AID (327-6243)
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-TALK (8255)
A comprehensive hotline that connects callers with local resources: 2-1-1
