Weather, markets, global trade, and an uncertain future all affect today's American farmers.

American farmers are inherently independent, optimistic, proud, cheerful and strong. But the perfect storm of historically terrible weather, the continued weakness of the market, global trade wars and much more lead some farmers to a critical point.

In a nationwide survey organized by the American Federation of Farm Bureaux (AFBF), 91% of farmers surveyed said that financial problems affect their mental health, closely followed by farming or business problems (88%) and fear of losing a farm (87%). Other factors affecting mental health include stress, weather, economics, isolation, and social stigma.

“The survey confirms what we already knew anecdotally: rural America harms not only economically, but also emotionally,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. The study involved adults living in rural communities and those who are specifically farmers or agricultural workers .

Additional survey results showed that: the main obstacles to obtaining mental health assistance for interviewed farmers and farm workers are the cost of assistance or treatment (87%); embarrassment (70%) and mental health awareness (65%); among rural residents, 4 out of 5 said that it would be convenient for them to talk with a family member or friend about solutions to mental health problems, but only 1 out of 3 farmers said the same thing.

Young villagers, more often than older ones, say they are now experiencing more mental health problems than a year ago.