What’s Behind the Farm Crisis?

“The staff at the Farm Stress Line are trained to help you deal with farm stress. We’re farmers and former farmers​—just like you—​and we understand the challenges facing rural families. We can put you in touch with people who can help. . . . All calls are confidential.”​—From a Canadian government Web site.

STRESS is now recognized by many health professionals as an occupational hazard of farming. To help farmers cope, there are clinical psychologists who specialize in farm stress, offering such services as support groups and stress hot lines for farming communities.

A farmer’s wife named Jane attends a Thursday night group counseling session. “I came because my husband committed suicide,” explains Jane. “His dream had always been to farm the family farm, and I guess if he couldn’t do that, he didn’t want to do anything else.”

Many have observed an unprecedented rise in the number of farmers seeking relief from stress. Just  what is behind the crisis many farmers are facing?

Natural Disasters and Disease

The government Web site quoted at the outset states: “The very nature of farm work means that a large portion of your daily lives​—weather, market prices, interest rates, equipment breakdown—​are not under your control. Even choosing between two things like which crop to grow or selling land [versus] transferring it to a creditor can create stress, as the outcome can be positive or negative.” When these factors are compounded by the threat of serious drought or disease or of losing a farm, the stress can become overwhelming.

Drought, for example, can be a double-edged sword. Farmer Howard Paulsen explained that the drought of 2001, one of the worst in Canadian history, affected his crops and his livestock. Without pastures to graze or crops to harvest, animal feed had to be purchased. “I’ve already spent $10,000 on feed and now I’m feeding them stuff that should be used in the winter time,” he said. “You start doing that, there’s no profit even in the livestock end of it.” In other areas, flooding has devastated many farms​—ruining entire harvests.

In Britain the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in 2001 was only the latest in a string of problems British farmers had experienced, including mad cow disease and swine fever. These diseases​—and the fear they generate in the public—​do more than wreak economic damage. Reported Agence France-Presse: “Sturdy countrymen, not the type easily moved to tears, have been seen sobbing as they watch government veterinarians stacking onto a burning pyre the herds they spent a lifetime building.” Following the outbreak of the bovine disease, police even began confiscating shotguns from farmers liable to commit suicide. Counseling services were flooded with calls from anxious farmers.

Economic Instability

There have also been dramatic changes in the economic landscape. “Between 1940 and the mid 1980s,” reads the back cover of the book Broken Heartland, “farm production expenses in America’s Heartland tripled, capital purchases quadrupled, interest payments jumped tenfold, profits fell by 10 percent, the number of farmers decreased by two-thirds, and nearly every farming community lost population, businesses, and economic stability.”

Why have profits failed to keep up with rising expenses? In today’s global community, farmers are subject to the forces of international markets. Farmers thus find themselves in competition with food producers thousands of miles away. True, international trade has also opened up new markets for farm goods, but the global market can be dangerously unstable. For example, in 1998 several grain and hog producers in Canada faced bankruptcy when their customers in Asia suffered an economic setback.

Loss of Community

Professor Mike Jacobsen, of the University of Iowa, who specializes in rural issues, observes that the farm crisis is also a rural community crisis. He says: “These places are child-centered, clean, where you want to get married and raise your kids. The schools are pretty decent. Safe. That’s the image, right? Well, the economic status of these towns is highly  dependent on a number of small family farms in the surrounding area.” As a result, the farm crisis also shows its face in the form of closed hospitals, schools, restaurants, stores, and churches in rural towns. One of the greatest charms of agrarian life, its close-knit community, is disappearing.

Not surprisingly, then, according to Newsweek magazine, almost 16 percent of rural Americans are under the poverty line. In his report “The Rural Crisis Downunder,” Geoffrey Lawrence writes that in Australia, “unemployment, underemployment and poverty rates are very much higher in rural than in urban areas.” Economic instabilities have forced many families​—especially younger ones—​to move to the city. Sheila, who works a farm with her family, asks: “How far can this go before we run out of people willing to farm the land?”

Because of the exodus of the younger generation to cities, the population of many rural towns has become noticeably older. These communities have lost not only the vigor of youth but also the availability of support for the elderly​—often when this care is most needed. Understandably, many older residents are confused and frightened by these rapid changes.

The farm crisis is thus devastating and far-reaching. It touches all of us. Nevertheless, as our next article will show, there is reason to believe that the farm crisis will end.

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In today’s global community, farmers are subject to the forces of international markets

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“How far can this go before we run out of people willing to farm the land?”

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ORGANIC FARMING

Organic food is enjoying growing acceptance. The retail market for organic food in Canada is increasing at a rate of approximately 15 percent each year.

What is organic food? A report by the Alberta Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development defines it as “food grown under a production system that, in addition to the avoidance of synthetic chemicals, also promotes soil health, biodiversity, low stress treatment of animals and sound environmental practices.”

This, say organic farmers, stands in contrast with food production by large commercial farm operations. “With enormous farms comes a trend to vast single crops, whose high yields are produced through intensive mechanization and a plethora of man-made pesticides and fertilizers,” writes Katharine Vansittart in Canadian Geographic. “In addition to the residues that such chemicals can leave in food, the nutritional content declines when produce is picked before it’s ripe, a given when it must travel long distances to reach its market. To ensure that crops arrive at their destination intact, they may also be gassed, waxed or irradiated with a nuclear by-product.”

Who is buying organic food? The Alberta report says that buyers “range from the health-conscious teenagers, to concerned mothers, to aging baby boomers. . . . They are no longer merely the stereotyped sixty’s flower child.”

However, not all people are convinced that organic food is better. Canadian Geographic observes: “The generally higher cost of organics causes skeptics to question its worth without hard science to prove its benefits. Others worry about a two-tier food system that excludes the poor.” Proponents of organic food counter that changes in diet, marketing, and delivery can make organics available to everyone, regardless of their economic station. In view of the wide range of opinions and scientific data, the debate over organic food is not likely to die down anytime soon.

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PESTICIDES​—THE FARMER’S DILEMMA

Pests and plant diseases in some parts of the world have damaged as much as 75 percent of potential crops. An obvious solution is simply to grow more crops. The Globe and Mail newspaper reports: “Canada’s farmers have tried to get out in front of the competition by adopting production methods designed to increase yields, giving them more to sell.” Yet, Terence McRae of Canada’s environment bureau warns: “Many of these changes have increased the potential environmental risks from agriculture.”

What about the use of pesticides? This too creates a dilemma for farmers, since debate still rages over the effectiveness of pesticides and the risks they pose to health. A report by the World Health Organization acknowledged that the toxicity and risks of most pesticides are still not fully known. Potential dangers may be compounded as pesticides are passed through the food chain. Animals eat vegetation sprayed with pesticides. Humans, in turn, consume the animals.

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USDA Photo by Doug Wilson