America's farmers are killing themselves in record numbers

[LongTomH]

This is from the Guardian UK: Why are America's farmers killing themselves in record numbers?. The suicide rate for farmers is twice that of veterans. Were you aware, and why do we have to hear this from a British news source?

The article starts with an account of a woman, a former farmer, who lost her husband to suicide:

“I have been so worried,” said Rosmann. “Mrs Peters, I am so glad you called me.”

Rosmann, an Iowa farmer, is a psychologist and one of the nation’s leading farmer behavioral health experts. He often answers phone calls from those in crisis. And for 40 years, he has worked to understand why farmers take their lives at such alarming rates – currently, higher rates than any other occupation in the United States.

............snip

“Farming has always been a stressful occupation because many of the factors that affect agricultural production are largely beyond the control of the producers,” wrote Rosmann in the journal Behavioral Healthcare. “The emotional wellbeing of family farmers and ranchers is intimately intertwined with these changes.”

Last year, a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that people working in agriculture – including farmers, farm laborers, ranchers, fishers, and lumber harvesters – take their lives at a rate higher than any other occupation. The data suggested that the suicide rate for agricultural workers in 17 states was nearly five times higher compared with that in the general population.

After the study was released, Newsweek reported that the suicide death rate for farmers was more than double that of military veterans. This, however, could be an underestimate, as the data collected skipped several major agricultural states, including Iowa. Rosmann and other experts add that the farmer suicide rate might be higher, because an unknown number of farmers disguise their suicides as farm accidents.

The US farmer suicide crisis echoes a much larger farmer suicide crisis happening globally: an Australian farmer dies by suicide every four days; in the UK, one farmer a week takes his or her own life; in France, one farmer dies by suicide every two days; in India, more than 270,000 farmers have died by suicide since 1995.

What the Hell is happening, and why do we have to hear this from a British news source? Why the Hell isn't the US media talking about this?

[RKP5637]

1. The US media is controlled by a handful of very wealthy and powerful people. The are not interested

in people, just money. Something like this is not on their agenda and gives them very little payback to cover it.

[hedda_foil]

2. Factory farming undercuts small farmers' break even point, most likely.

[democratisphere]

3. Farmers work extremely hard often with little or no payback.

Most of the wealth has shifted to a few people and small farmers, like the rest of US, are not part of that group. The cost of farming and ever changing weather conditions are making it difficult to realize a profit. Imported food is also bringing down US farm prices. The US media spends it's time electing the likes of drumpf.