Joco Today

U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, representing Kansas, has participated in a documentary titled "Out of the Shadows," which focuses on the mental health crisis affecting rural America. The documentary sheds light on the increasing stress levels among those involved in agriculture.

Senator Marshall shared his insights on the current state of mental health in rural areas: “I grew up in agriculture and I’ve just have never seen the amount of stress that I am seeing today in the world of agriculture. It’s the input costs, it’s the interest rates… you know, we were all brought up in agriculture, we were taught farm safety. And despite the best practices, we still lose a farmer about once a day across the country to some type of a farm-related accident. But we’re also losing a farmer, almost every day, to suicide as well.”

He further discussed the burden of family legacy that many farmers face: “Think about the pressure on my farmers. I am a fifth-generation farm kid. Many of these folks today will be sixth generations. So for six generations, they’ve been able to keep this farm going. A farmer doesn’t inherit the land from their ancestors, they borrow it from their children. And I think some are just embarrassed by the circumstances. They’ve not been able to keep the family farm together.”

The senator also highlighted challenges regarding access to mental health resources in rural communities: “Most farmers have to travel 30, 60, 100 miles for any type of care, more than just an urgent care situation. So, there certainly aren’t the resources in rural America that you’d see in an urban setting.”

Marshall emphasized that although these issues have gone unrecognized and untreated for too long, there is help available: “…It’s just gone unrecognized, untreated for too long. It doesn’t have to be this way. There’s help out there. I just think the stress is so immense right now, on farmers. They need a word of encouragement, and that’s my job. My job is to be out there and be a message of hope.”