Georgia Farmers Face Mental Health Crisis as Suicide Rates Increase

Grady Newsource - University of Georgia ^ | Oct 30, 2026 | Brielle Logan

[CondoleezzaProtege]

The CDC lists mental health as a public concern with studies suggesting farmer suicides are double that of the general population.

Farming is a uniquely stress-inducing job and lifestyle. Farm bankruptcies continue to rise due to unpredictable market forces that all lie outside of the farmers’ control…These include increasing costs like fertilizer and diesel, and the pressure of unpredictable weather, including droughts, hurricanes and climate extremes.

The mental health toll this takes on farmers is extreme…

“At the end of the day, they feel like they’re fighting a losing battle, and … some people think that there’s only one way out, and some people take that road,” said Hand.

The average age of a Georgia farmer is 59 and younger generations are reluctant to take over these family businesses.

“You got these guys that are doing it, and they’re gonna age out, and a lot of their kids don’t want nothing to do with it because they see how hard it is, and it’s like you’re not even making a living really,” said Hand.

Not only are they not financially compensated for the constant hard work, but it’s an isolated job that often goes unnoticed and underappreciated.

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TOPICS: Agriculture; Health/Medicine; Society
KEYWORDS: diesel; farmers; farms; fertilizer; mentalhealth; tariffs

[CondoleezzaProtege]

[Bonemaker]

“These include increasing costs like fertilizer and diesel...”

Whose fault is that? Aren’t we energy independent/self sufficient? Something is rotten in Denmark....and America. Farming has always been a bitch of a life.

[PGalt]

Thanks for posting. Sad. We buy quite a bit from our local farmers. Unfortunately not many can do that.

[central_va]

Sell the farm and learn a trade. Life is too short.

[FamiliarFace]

In our area, just a few miles from my home, we have an apple orchard. Only it started as a farm according to residents who have lived here most of their lives.

Sometime during the pandemic, the farmer’s wife (a widow at that time) had a heart attack. Their only son inherited the orchard and a blossoming farmer’s market.

I’m not sure if this age is 100% accurate, but I think it’s close. The orchard owners’ son was just 28 when Mom had passed suddenly, and not many years after Dad had passed. The community surrounded them with immediate help while he wrapped his head and heart around such a big loss.

Well, I’m happy to tell you, the orchard is not only alive and well, it is THRIVING after just a few years. Jr has turned the place into a real venue. The market is open all year long, instead of March to Christmas. They do take two weeks off at Christmas, but they open back up after the New Year begins.

The market has been expanded. They grow so many vegetables there. I can buy almost all of my local produce there in season. It’s just incredible! Corn comes right out of the field and an hour or two later, it’s in a bin for customers. Same with berries, melons, tomatoes, potatoes, salad greens, herbs, broccoli, green beans, etc.

They have seasonal festivals there at least once a month. Pick your own berries, zinnias, pumpkins, go in the corn maze, have at it at the apple cannon. It’s a very active and fun place, and the son has taken all this on, with full community support.

We are very blessed to have such a market just 10 minutes from our home. I am so proud of Jr, to have bounced back from the unbearable pain of losing his parents as such a young man, but emerging as an even brighter star. His parents raised an awesome person!

God bless our farmers and the communities that support them!

[1_Rain_Drop]

A lot of farmers suicided in my area because of health issues. Being in constant pain. I don’t find that to be a mental health issue. How much pain can a person tolerate and still have to do the physical work?

[lee martell]

My heart goes out to these hardworking people, but I admit to not having even thought about them in quite some time.
Thank you, poster Condi for bringing this to our attention.
Reminding us of how certain tariffs and legislation will effect, if not decimate certain essential professions.

[Wallace T.]

There was a popular song during World War I, How do you keep them down on the farm after they've seen Paree? The farm population has been declining for a century. Perhaps not Paris, but Detroit, Los Angeles, Houston, Baltimore, etc. Even in the 1920s, why would a farmer's or sharecropper's son work 16 hours a day except on Sundays, when he could earn much more on the Ford assembly line in Detroit, the East Texas oil fields, or the docks of Baltimore for fewer hours and maybe free Saturdays? Tractors, combines, cotton strippers, and other innovations greatly reduced the need for large families to operate farms.

[iontheball]

I grew up on a farm so I know how unforgiving the uncontrollable aspects of the occupation can be. Farming is much more than just a job, it is where you live, raise your family, and call home. But, suicide is never the answer. God be with the troubled souls and bestow on them Your grace and peace.

[Allegra]

God be with the troubled souls and bestow on them Your grace and peace.

Amen. 🙏

[KittyKares]

I don’t like that our supermarkets import so many agricultural products from Mexico and South America. Whenever I can, I buy a product grown in the U.S., even if it costs a tad more.

[Bonemaker]

We should be able to grow pretty much whatever we want/need.

[dfwgator]

Paul Harvey - So God Made A Farmer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRDaPEaDJ7E

[PsyCon]

These “ain’t it awful” occupational suicide articles are exceptionally misleading, and of little value.

There are serious limitations in the CDC data, and particular this data, beginning with its age: 2003 - 2009!

Another is the operational definitions and perimeters of the “farmer” classification and the resulting data set which is much broader than who comes to mind upon hearing the term “farmer.”

Farmer Suicides Among States Reporting Violent Deaths, 2003 - 2017

[PsyCon]

Sorry, 2003-2017 as noted in the citation I included.

[Zuriel]

The farm economy mess, which Jimmah Cawtuh’s administration left for Ronald Reagan, caused many suicides.

[PGalt]

GREAT! Thanks for posting. Our neighborhood farm stand/store is walking distance 15 minutes from our house. The 2nd one is down the road 10 minutes drive time. We get almost all of our veggies and some of our fruits from them. My wife does lots of canning, so we have some items lasting through the winter. People enjoy the corn maze and the hay rides. Deer, wild turkeys, whooping cranes and much other wildlife is common around our house. Coyotes are not too far away. I have seen one on my deck in the middle of the night when my dog woke me up with a low growl. We are so fortunate to live near farmers. God bless them.