For Grant Heinrich, suicide has felt like a plague on his family. He lost his uncle 24 years ago. Then one of his cousins, who Heinrich saw as a superhero, died nine years ago. Two years after that, another cousin died by suicide.
“I have witnessed too much pain for the rest of my family,” said Heinrich, the location manager for Pro-Agri Spraying in Slaton, a town of about 6,000 people outside of Lubbock.
In the last two decades, there have been higher rates of suicide in rural communities than in urban areas. For farmers, the rate of suicide is about 3.5 times more than the general population, according to the National Rural Health Association.
Part of the problem, Heinrich said, is the sheer isolation that can come with living on a farm. Advocates also point to the multiple economic challenges farmers face that are largely out of their hands — like last year’s historic drought — and the few options for affordable health care in rural communities.
To close the gap in access, the Texas Agriculture Department is asking the state Legislature for $500,000 a year to sustain its Farmer Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Program. The program offers mental health and financial resources to callers and was launched with the help of a federal grant. agricultural industry and their communities.
