With fire and pizza dough, farmers gain a sense of community and build vital connections for mental health

A 'Pizza for Producers' event in Skagit County, Washington, helps farmers and
farmworkers make connections. (Photo by Karen Ducey, The Seattle Times)

Farmer suicide is an increasingly acknowledged fact of life in rural communities. "The reality is that there’s no perfect source of information about the high levels of stress in the farming community. Suicide rates represent the most dreaded outcome but fall well short of painting a complete picture of behavioral health among farmers and farmworkers," writes Matt Perdue of the National Farmers Union. It is equally clear that isolation, hopelessness, mental-health stigmas, untreated work injuries and access to household firearms also play a part in farmer suicides.

In an effort to address the unique farm-life stressors, an Extension office Skagit County, Washington, has begun to weave group events into its farmer outreach. Last month a group of farmers gathered to learn how to make wood-fired pizza. "On the surface, the demonstration — pushing and pulling the dough into a perfect circle, crisping the toppings in a kiln until the pizza turns golden brown — was an effort to show that making delicious food only takes a few ingredients. But the primary purpose of this 'Pizza for Producers' event lay in between the making and baking: Farmers and farmworkers, many of whom labor in solitude, came together, ate and opened up about their work and themselves," reports Michelle Baruchman of the Seattle Times.

Don McMoran runs Skagit County's Extension office. He grew up knowing that farming and suicide often live in tandem. "He grew up as the fourth-generation farmer on a 2,000-acre potato farm in Skagit," Baruchman writes. "As a child, he experienced the suicide of a man who worked on his family’s farm. Between 2016 and 2019, he experienced three more. . . . After that, he slammed his fists on his kitchen table and said, 'That’s it. I’m not going to have this in my county anymore. I need to get off the sidelines and do something.'"

Allison Brennan, a Montana State University professor studying behavioral health, told Baruchman: "The idea that farmers should be self-reliant and not need counseling also creates challenges. In small communities, everybody knows everybody. If there is a mental health clinic and I go there, someone will see my vehicle parked outside and then I’ll get labeled." Through group events, McMoran is seeking to help are farmers overcome stigmas and have honest conversation about farming life.