Ohio Agricultural Mental Health Alliance Releases Farm Stress Survey Results

The Ohio Agricultural Mental Health Alliance (OAMHA) have released the results of a survey created to ensure Ohio’s farmers, families, and communities are better equipped to deal with stress.

Anonymously, members of the farming community answered a series of questions related to mental health and agriculture that garnered information related to demographics, farm-related stressors, mental health and well-being, loneliness and social support, and knowledge of and access/barriers to mental health support services. More than 600 people accessed the survey, with 80 Ohio counties having at least one respondent.

Key highlights collected from the survey data show:

  • 39% of respondents indicated their mental wellbeing is “very good or excellent”
  • 38% of respondents indicated that their mental wellbeing was “good”, resulting in 3-out-of-4 responses having a positive perception of their overall mental well-being.
  • 23% of respondents had negative perceptions of their mental well-being.
  • 10% of respondents were highly affected and reported that mental health conditions or emotional problems kept them from their work and usual activities 14 or more days of the past 30 days
  • 50% of respondents scored as likely to be experiencing loneliness, with nearly 1-in-5 stating they often feel isolated from others.
  • 44% of respondents stated that there was a time in the past 12 months when they felt they needed mental or emotional health care or counseling services. Of those, half stated that they did not get the services they needed, and nearly one-quarter stated they received some services, but felt they needed more or different services.

The Alliance is made up of state agencies and organizations focused on mental health in agriculture. Members include AgCredit, Farm Credit Mid-America, Ohio AgriBusiness Association, Ohio Corn & Wheat, Ohio Farm Bureau, Ohio Department of Agriculture, Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS), Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation, and The Ohio State University.

OhioMHAS and The Ohio State University analyzed the data to compile an executive summary report. Group members will then determine where resources are needed to help ensure support is available to communities in need.