SUSSEX COUNTY - Farmers across the country face long hours, financial pressure, and isolation - and new data shows those stressors are taking a toll.
According to the National Rural Health Association, farmers are more than 3.5 times as likely to die by suicide as the general population. Earlier this month, the Delaware Farm Bureau and Department of Agriculture launched a statewide mental health awareness campaign to help combat that.
As part of the campaign, stickers featuring the national suicide and crisis hotline number — 988 — have been produced for placement in tractor cabs, farm offices, and other highly visible areas. The goal is to remind farmers that help is always within reach.
For Sussex County sheep farmer Steve Breeding, who is also the president of the Sussex County Farm Bureau, the issue is deeply personal.
Just over a year ago, Breeding lost one of his sheep houses in a fire that killed 200 sheep — a devastating blow to his operation.
“I had literally spent a week pulling dead carcass of sheep out with an excavator, and put them in a pile,” Breeding said. “I parked them in front of the manure shed, and I was looking at this pile of lambs thinking, if I was in there, I’d just be another body in that pile.”
Breeding said he didn’t reach out for help after the fire, something he now believes was a mistake.
“I think I didn't reach out, and I didn't want to ask for help because I think farmers are the tough guys and that kind of stuff, and you're just meant to do it by yourself,” he said. “Farming and agriculture is kind of a lonely job sometimes.”
Eventually, the emotional burden became overwhelming.
“ I was in a real dark place,” he said. “On the dash of my pickup there was a stack of papers that had the suicide hotline on it. And on the console was a pistol, and I was really contemplating taking my own life that day. But I noticed that piece of paper, and made a phone call, and probably the best phone call I could have made in my life.”
Breeding says he hopes, through this campaign and more activism, that others in a potentially negative space will make the decision to reach out to others,
“If you're in a dark place, there's always help out there — you can always call somebody, call that, even if it's not the suicide prevention line or crisis line. Call a friend. Call somebody. Everybody needs help — and we understand that.”
If you or someone you know is in crisis, help is available 24/7 by calling or texting the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.