The hardships and heartaches that farm families confront during their stewardship of land and livestock too often goes largely unnoticed. The good news is a nonprofit network of support services currently is operating in Iowa and six other Midwestern states (Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, and Nebraska) to help address the under-served mental health needs of farm families. It’s called Sowing the Seeds of Hope.
The enormous financial risk, complex marketing decisions, weather variables, and never-ending list of chores can compound stress levels and lead to anxiety, irritability, and despair among those who work so hard to make a living off the land. Pent-up stress can sour family and marital relationships if the channels of communication aren’t opened. The suicide rate among farmers and ranchers is twice the national average. During downturns in the farm economy, it rises 3 to 4 times the national average.
As a family farmer myself, I have experienced first-hand the highs and lows of farming. I witnessed the 1980s farm crisis wipe out thousands of family-sized operations and deter a generation of would-be farmers from ever getting started. Today the majority of U.S. farmers are older than age 54. Fewer and fewer members of the next generation choose farming as a career. And if they do, younger farmers in particular may feel isolated and less able to cope with some of the pressures.
As a federal lawmaker, I recognize the need for outreach and assistance to farm families struggling with burdensome emotional and financial stress. That’s why I supported federal funding for Sowing the Seeds of Hope. I helped secure $100,000 in the spending package that was signed by the president in February. Sowing the Seeds of Hope offers core services to help farm families cope and confront the inevitable toll farming has on their mental health and well-being including: community education, crisis hotlines, prevention services, educational retreats and support groups.
The challenges facing farm and ranch families in the 21st century are considerable. With consolidation trends, international pressures and corporate influences, small and mid-sized farming operations may feel as if they’re on the endangered species list. According to a report by the USDA, small family farms made up 91 percent of all U.S. farms in 2001, but accounted for just 33 percent of the value of all agricultural products. To me, this highlights a critical issue. Federal farm payments should go to those who most need assistance. Despite my hard-fought efforts to get reasonable farm payment limitations to the president’s desk during debate on the 2002 farm bill, the largest operators still swallow up the lion’s share of federal farm assistance. The largest 10 percent of farms receive about two-thirds of government farm payments.
In March, I called for an investigation of the implementation and enforcement of the 1987 Farm Program Payments Integrity Act which sought to end abuses and limit farm payments to those "actively engaged" in farming. I want to make sure those receiving farm payments lawfully qualify under this standard whether by active personal labor, active personal management or personal financial risk.
In the 108th Congress, I will continue working to curb corporate concentration in American agriculture’s livestock and grain sectors so that Iowa’s independent producers have a fighting chance to earn a good living from the marketplace. At my request the National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) studied trends in contract grain and oilseed farming. Considering the impact vertical integration has had on the livestock industry, I don’t want to see independent grain farmers squeezed out by multi-nationals. Iowa agriculture can’t afford a repeat scenario. I’ll use this information to keep tabs on grain marketing arrangements in the future.
Although the horse is out of the barn, I haven’t given up on reining in corporate concentration in the livestock industry. That’s why I’ve reintroduced legislation to ban packer ownership of livestock seven business days before slaughter. (Despite being passed twice last year in the Senate, the measure died during negotiations with the House.) And I’ve also introduced a bill that would require 25 percent of a packer's daily kill to come from the spot market. This would enable the Mandatory Livestock Reporting system to show what the packers are paying on the spot market on a given day and give independent producers more consistent, reliable numbers when they make their marketing decisions. In addition, independent producers would be assured a competitive position due to the packers need to fill the daily 25 percent spot market requirement.
As long as I’m in the U.S. Senate, the family farmer has a set of eyes and ears at the policy tables in Washington. Obviously, high-tech farm machinery, breakthroughs in biotechnology, and advances in transportation and food processing systems have changed dramatically the way food gets from the farm to our table. I’m not looking to return to yesteryear of the horse-drawn plow. But I am working in the legislative fields in Washington to sow the seeds of opportunity and prosperity for family-sized farms in the 21st century.
Sowing the Seeds of Hope
For more information about Sowing the Seeds of Hope, Iowans should contact AgriWellness, Inc. located in Harlan at 712.235.6100 or e-mail agriwellness@fmctc.com.