Wisconsin program works to improve farmers' mental health by helping them reconnect to each other and the land

Community members gather at a Farm Well Wisconsin
training. (Photo by Farm Well Wisconsin)

Would you want the weather to determine your paycheck? How about food tariffs? Negotiations with foreign countries? Unpredictable legislation? Debt? Animal disease? Bee fungus? Need we go on? American farmers have to live with uncommon, ever-present stressors that many people would never accept.

To help share the stress load, Farm Well Wisconsin was founded in 2020 and is funded through a five-year grant. "Through trainings, community members work on building empathetic listening skills, connecting people with resources and discussing issues related to farm culture," reports Gaby Vinick of Wisconsin Public Radio. It is one of many state-level programs that have been created in recent years to address farmers' mental health.

The farming life of Dan Wegmueller, a fourth-generation farmer, is an example. In 2017, his farm "was on the brink of bankruptcy. It wasn’t until he converted his farmhouse into an Airbnb and expanded into agritourism, that his business got back on track," Vinick reports. "For Wegmueller, some of the stress farmers are dealing with today comes from the commodification of the industry. He said large-scale, mass production and industrialization of farming has pushed farmers into the mindset that bigger is better."

Wegmueller told Vinick: "As farmers, we've lost track of who we are. We've lost track of our role on the farm and our role in society. Farmers don't produce food anymore. We produce commodities." Vinick notes, "He said that stress can take its toll on farmers' mental health. Now, Wegmueller attends regular meetings and connects with farmers about his own experiences through the group."

Farm Well Wisconsin founder Chris Frakes told Vinick how growing up, she watched farmers struggle through the 1980s crisis, "I saw the toll that took on farmers and farm families, combined with the way that farmers and farm families tend to be very stoic. And so, they don't have very well-developed internal resources to talk about when they're really stressed or struggling."

Shawn Monson, a Farm Well trainer, told Vinick, "We give you [farmers] the skills and the training to engage in a conversation that shows that you genuinely care and want to hear how somebody's doing, how to listen to them, you know, validate what they're experiencing." Vinick notes, "The group also runs 'SafeTalk,' a program to help people identify signs of someone struggling with suicidal thoughts." 

Farmer David Unbehaun, who also attends Farm Well meetings, told Vinick, "We may not answer all the questions, but at least we're trying."