WICHITA — Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D., hosted an Ag Mental Health roundtable Tuesday at the American Ag Credit in Wichita to discuss mental health needs for the agriculture community. Senator Marshall was joined by agriculture leaders across the state from multiple mental health centers, Kansas agriculture associations, K-State Research & Extension members, leaders of American Ag Credit and more.  

Currently, farmers are facing numerous obstacles that are outside of their control that are taking a major toll on their mental health. 

The roundtable focused on breaking mental health stigmas and encouraging farmers and ranchers to utilize the resources available to them if they are experiencing stressors that are creating dangerous or life-threatening thoughts in their head.  

Senator Marshall also led an awareness campaign addressing Ag Mental Health in an effort to highlight resources and decrease the stigma around addressing mental health. September is National Suicide Awareness Month and while farmers are always at a heightened risk of suicide, today’s conditions with the drought, the rising costs of inflation and more, make mental health conditions even worse. Senator Marshall encourages everyone to show compassion and check on your neighbor. 

Highlights from the roundtable include  

“The incidents of farmer and rancher suicide is 3.5x the national average. I am proud to have the Ag community come together and have these tough discussions about mental health and what we can do to recognize the signs and symptoms.” Senator Marshall said. “Times are tough right now for our farmers. Interest rates are up, inflation is making the price of doing business skyrocket as net farm income is plummeting. We need to show compassion and make sure our farmers know we support them and decrease the stigma of getting help.” 

“Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to raise your hand and say, ‘I need help.’ That’s why Kansas Farm Bureau is providing mental health toolkits to each of our 105 county Farm Bureaus to ensure everyone has access to resources that can help. I appreciate Sen. Marshall for highlighting the importance of mental health, especially as things like drought and inflation increase stress for Kansas farmers and ranchers,” Steve McCloud, Kansas Farm Bureau 4th District Director said. 

“Rooted in American AgCredit’s core values is an unwavering commitment to the health of the communities where we work and live,” Gary Harshberger, American AgCredit’s board chairman said. “Farmers experience difficult challenges: fluctuating commodity prices, trade disruptions, and extreme weather events that make an already challenging job even harder. We are supportive of Senator Marshall’s efforts to provide farmers with resources to help them manage stress so that they can continue achieving their goals, supporting their families, and supporting Kansas communities.”