Stress, Depression & Suicide Prevention Resources for Dairy Farmers

Due to decreasing farm gate prices, California dairy farmers have seen their monthly income drop significantly, some experiencing six figure income losses. This stressful atmosphere has some producers actively looking for anti-depressant therapy and two producers suicides have been reported.

In order to support family dairy farms WIFSS, the Kings County Agricultural Commissioner’s office and Colorado State University partnered with dairy industry organizations to offer a June 11th webinar on farmer stress, depression and suicide prevention for professionals allied with the dairy industry.

Attending on 54 links from around the state were field staff from producer and processor organizations, dairy veterinarians, agricultural lenders, regulatory field staff and various educational groups working with producers such as UCCE livestock advisors, NRCS field staff and other consultants. Access to the webinar technology and logistical planning was provided by Tim Niswander, Agricultural Commissioner for Kings County.

Presenter Dr. Robert Fetsch is an educator from Colorado State who is nationally recognized for research and outreach in mental health issues for farmers and who has a family dairy background. County mental health professionals from the major dairies also were on hand and several requests for information or assistance were received within several hours after the conclusion of the webinar.

Resources from the webinar are available below:

Webinar: Stress, Depression and Suicide Prevention in Dairy Farmers
Date: Thursday, June 11, 2009 – 9:30-11:00 a.m. PST

    
• PowerPoint
    
• Dairy Herd Management (May 09): Recognizing the Signs of Stress, Depression (pdf)
    
• Farm and Ranch Family Stress and Depression: A Checklist and Guide for Making Referrals
    
• Stress Anger Proceedings: Recognizing Stress, Anger, Depression, and Suicidal Thinking and Knowing What to Do Next
    
• Suicide Prevention in the Dairy Webinar Recording- (video appears a few minutes into recording)