"How are you really doing?": Social Sustainability of Beginning Farmers

View the project final report

Commodities

Practices

• Education and Training: participatory research, workshop
• Sustainable Communities: quality of life, social psychological indicators, sustainability measures

"How are you really doing?": Social Sustainability of Beginning Farmers was a two-year research project focused on conducting an assessment of mental health, social supports, and external stressors of beginning Ohio farmers. Reports suggest a prevalence of depression, anxiety, and suicide among U.S. farmers (Arif, Adeyemi, Laditka, Laditka, & Borders, 2021; Wedell, Sherman, & Chadde, 2020; Weingarten, 2018), but minimal literature exists concerning beginner farmers’ well-being. Midwestern farmers face an array of stressors (Arora et al., 2020; Chengane, Beseler, Duysen, & Rautiainen, 2021; Henning-Smith, Alberth, Bjornestad, Becot, & Inwood, 2022). Between 2014 and 2018, 450 Midwestern farmers died by suicide (Wedell et al., 2020). Our approach allowed us to consider systemic issues in beginning farming that contribute to stress. Social sustainability is one aspect of sustainable development and focuses on the social well-being of a community (e.g., a place or a profession like farming). Social, economic, and environmental sustainability can work together to achieve equitable, viable, and quality standards of living. The project was implemented by an Ohio State University College of Social Work (OSU CSW) graduate student with the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) under the supervision of OSU CSW faculty mentors.

The research involved 90 beginning farmer participants. We used a community-engaged, explanatory sequential mixed methods research design with the qualitative portion as the prioritized strand. We administered an online survey (n=62) of validated measurement tools to assess farmer stress and related factors, followed by in-depth semi-structured interviews (n=20). Farmer input drove the project process through meetings with OEFFA’s leadership and Begin Farming staff and the engagement of three beginning farmer key informants as project consultants.

Research findings have informed education and outreach efforts, including the enhancement and dissemination of existing sources and the improvement of mental health literacy among farmers through workshops and consultations. Outreach efforts were leveraged with the 2021-2022 Schweitzer Fellowship Program. Workshops have been facilitated at key events such as OEFFA’s Heartland Farm Beginnings program and OEFFA’s annual conference. Through outreach, farmers have gained coping skills, such as social support identification, and increased knowledge of available resources. Project findings and policy recommendations that support the social sustainability of beginning farmers will be disseminated through OEFFA and the Ohio Food Policy Network (OFPN).

As a result of the project, mental health needs and assets have been identified among the beginning farmer community in Ohio, and awareness of farmer mental health has been bolstered. In our sample, 58.1% of respondents reported mild, moderate, or severe symptom-burden of anxiety or depression. Participants accessed various mental health supports. For example, 26.2% said they utilized in-person counseling or therapy, 21.3% used telecounseling, 29.5% used prayer or faith-based therapy, and 36.1% used alternative or body-based therapy. Over 66% of men had not accessed any mental health supports in the past year, compared to 13% of females and 17% of non-binary or transgender survey respondents. Top stressors included having too much to do and too little time, COVID-19, not enough person-power on the farm, climate change, and social justice. Interview participants described coping with stress using social support, the therapeutic nature of farming, and individual coping mechanisms such as eating well and exercising. Interviewees described their experiences with mental health as “a roller coaster” with rugged individualism perpetuating mental health challenges. The farm was described as a cure and a cause of stress. Barriers to accessing stress or mental health support included social stigma and inaccessibility due to perceived high financial cost, inadequate health insurance, or difficulties finding care. Lastly, interviewees described "the stress of capitalism,” work-life imbalance, gaps in social support, and experiences of discrimination as systemic stressors. Interview participants had mixed perspectives regarding social justice and climate change as sources of stress.

Research dissemination is ongoing. Project findings and policy recommendations that support the social sustainability of beginning farmers will be disseminated through OEFFA and the Ohio Food Policy Network (OFPN).

Access the bibliography for this grant report: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WeybRhOPm3SyXHVzaoXjh8saFccMUNN9/view?usp=sharing 

By the end of Y1 (year 1), through collecting, cleaning, and analyzing survey data and interview data, we identified the mental health needs of beginning farmers in Ohio, including the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and high-stress levels, and the contributing factors (LO1). We identified assets that contribute to the well-being and sustainability of beginning Ohio farmers including social networks and organizational resources in their communities (LO2). Through relationship-building and outreach, we increased awareness about mental health among beginning farmers in Ohio (LO3).

In Y2, as a result of the development (AO1) and dissemination of resources (AO2), farmers have increased knowledge of mental health resources available (LO3). Through participation in outreach workshops, farmers gained coping skills such as stress management (AO3). Farmers will experience an improved quality of life (AO4). Project findings and resources are being disseminated, nationally, to catalyze work that supports farmer mental health (AO5). New collaborations have been formed between OEFFA, The Ohio State University College of Social Work, and beginning farmers in Ohio (AO6). Project findings will be used to leverage future funding opportunities for continued work in this arena (AO7).