Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and created new challenges, it’s long been common knowledge that you have to be strong to be a farmer. 

Though it may be easier to discuss, physical strength is just one part of the equation. 

To get a dialogue going about the mental health aspect, there are now resources available for members of the Southwest Wisconsin agricultural community.

Working in the industry can be challenging, said agriculture educator Jackie McCarville, who grew up on a farm and married a dairy farmer. 

McCarville, who wakes up at 3:30 a.m. to do chores before starting her day of work with UW—Extension, has firsthand experience with the difficulties. 

The challenges of farming can lead to stress that feeds into mental health distress, she said. 

Talking about it is an important step to healing, she added. “We always feel better when we let everything out.” 

Unfortunately, mental health is often considered a taboo subject of discussion, especially in the farming community, said Jeffrey “Jeff” Ditzenberger. He started the TUGS (Talking, Understanding, Growing, Supporting) Group, to help change that dynamic.   

“We just tell people to reach out” if they are having a rough day and need someone to talk to or need to find a resource that can help them, Ditzenberger said. 

Ditzenberger started the group and became a certified Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) trainer and mental health life coach after he changed his mind midway through an attempt to end his life.

Ditzenberger, who grew up on a farm, was dealing with stress professionally and personally.

The people around him did not want to have a conversation about his mental health. He tried to get into therapy, but could not find the support he needed in time, he said. 

He planned for weeks. He visited some people he hadn’t seen in a while. He threw out hints, but “people don’t ask questions,” he said. 

On the night he had been planning for, as he stood in an old, abandoned house that he had started on fire, he reconsidered. 

He walked out and dialed 9-1-1. After he served jail and probation time and paid his dues to insurance for burning down the building, he got to work, seeking to open up the conversation about mental health.

Back when he was in the Navy, the ship he sailed on had to call a tugboat when it was ready to get pulled into port, since it was so large. The crew could not see the tugboat, but they could hear its “toot toot” as it brought them to safety, Ditzenberger said. 

He thought it would be great if life were more like that: if a person in distress could make a call and get that same sense of relief from it that the crew had when the tugboat pulled them to the dock. And so TUGS was born.

“It’s OK to not be OK,” Ditzenberger said. “It’s OK to tell people that you’re not OK.” Those are some of the principles behind TUGS. 

Though TUGS is an inclusive group, there are unique-to-farming challenges they take into account, Ditzenberger added. 

Farmers can’t control the prices their products sell for. Unlike people employed in other fields who can potentially switch employers if they are unhappy with their earnings, farmers can’t just sell their product to another plant and expect to increase their profits, he said. 

And profit margins were tight even in the pre-COVID days, said McCarville.

To add on to the hardship, some farmers had to dump their milk in the midst of the pandemic, Ditzenberger said.

As the COVID situation continues to impact the supply chain, this year, feed costs are high, McCarville said.

She has noticed increased prices on some other farm items recently, she added, like the plastic used to wrap bales. 

Other everyday essentials for farmers — things as simple as fly traps — are difficult to find or more expensive than normal, she said.

Trouble tracking down new equipment like skid steers and manure spreaders to purchase has created additional hardship, McCarville said. 

At some point, a dairy farmer might say “enough is enough,” sell their animals and switch to beef, “but the cow prices aren’t good,” either, she added.

When these types of stressors lead to mental health struggles, it is not always clear where a farmer should turn, Ditzenberger said. 

A farmer’s support network is often made up of other farmers who are having the same problems, and the cost of traditional mental healthcare services may serve as a deterrence to seeking professional help, he added.

Luckily, resources now available seek to overcome these obstacles to care. 

●  Wisconsin farmers can call the Wisconsin Farmer Wellness Hotline at 1-888-901-2558 any time, 24/7, if they are struggling. 

●  Farmers may also direct questions about resources available to the Wisconsin Farm Center phone number at 1-800-942-2474, or email at farmcenter@wisconsin.gov. 

●  Farmers of the state who need help financially for emergency requirements can fill out an application for Harvest of Hope at https://www.

madisonchristiancommunity.org/harvest_of_hope.aspx. 

●  The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number is 1-800-273-8255. 

●  The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration national helpline number is 1-800-662-4357. 

●  A page with additional resources for those in the agricultural community is available at https://green.extension.wisc.edu/health-and-wellbeing/resilient-farms-families/.

●  Any hoping to find out more about responding to stress can visit https://farms.extension.wisc.edu/farmstress/

●  TUGS’ website is https://tugsgroup.com/.

Locals should also stay posted for information about upcoming farm couple weekend workshops, McCarville said. Plans are in the making to potentially hold them in a few locations between January and March.

With these events, participants’ hotel rooms are paid for, and there are generally resources available to help cover fees for childcare and fill-in farm help for the weekend, she said. 

They are another chance for farmers to discuss things that are stressing them out and develop an action plan to move forward.