Officials set up hotline for stressed-out farmers

Print More
MP3

(Host) State officials are concerned that the financial pressures facing dairy farmers will lead to psychological problems — and possibly suicide.

So the state has set up a help line to handle calls from farmers under financial, and emotional stress.

VPR’s John Dillon reports:

(Dillon) Vermont lost about six dairy farms a month as milk prices plummeted this spring. Agricultural economists don’t expect prices to rebound for another year. So officials are worried that the financial strain will take an emotional toll on struggling farmers.

Diane Bothfeld is a dairy policy specialist with the Agency of Agriculture.

(Bothfeld) "There are a lot of concerns for the emotional and mental health of our dairy farmers. We get articles from around the country. There have been suicides in California and suicides in Maine. There are not many alternatives. We are very concerned about that. We have put together a dairy help line with a 1 800 number to call for farmers. The people answering those phones are with UVM Extension rural rehabilitation. They’re skilled in these issues."

(Dillon) Officials say they aren’t aware of any Vermont farmers committing suicide because of financial stress. But Vermont Congressman Peter Welch highlighted the issue as he asked the House Agriculture Committee recently to help dairy farmers.

(Welch) "And as farmers cope with mounting losses, the psychological impact is beginning to show. And we have a hotline literally in Vermont to help farmers who are just dealing with this extraordinary pressure of seeing their life of work go down the drain."

(Dillon) But the people running the hotline say they’re not offering a psychological counseling service. They say the initial goal of the hotline was to offer financial advice, such as help with restructuring loans.

(LeVitre) "I want to emphasize this is not a suicide line."

(Dillon) Rick LeVitre is associate dean of the University of Vermont Extension Service, which operates the three 800 numbers.

(LeVitre) "The counselors are well trained in dealing with emotional situations. But they are not suicide counselors. They can try to make connections between people and those that have the training in suicide prevention. But this is not a suicide hotline. I don’t want that misunderstood as a 24-7 suicide hotline."

(Dillon) Cathy Mason answers the phone when it rings into the Rutland office.

(Mason) "We haven’t really gotten in this specific office a lot of crisis calls. Farmers have a tendency to talk among themselves, I think, on occasion or keeps things quiet, and don’t always reach out to a hotline or a help line."

(Dillon) LeVitre with UVM Extension says the service has helped more than 150 farms with financial advice. He doesn’t know how many farmers have called for help with emotional or psychological problems. But LeVitre – who used to be a dairy farmer — says he’s never seen it this bad in dairy country, with farmers getting paid about half of what they earned a year ago.

(LeVeitre) "And you know if it’s more than one or two generations, there’s that extra stress. Geez, mom and dad and gram and grandpa made it and how come things aren’t the same. So there’s a tremendous amount of stress out there."

(Dillon) If people do call with emotional problems, or express thoughts or suicide, officials say they would be referred to a local mental health agency.

For VPR News, I’m John Dillon in Montpelier.

Comments are closed.