Episode 71: Protecting the Most Important Asset on the Farm with Sarah Noggle

In this episode of Ag Credit Said It, host Phil Young introduces the topic of mental health in farming. He welcomes guest expert Sarah Noggle, an OSU extension educator in Paulding County, to discuss recent findings from the Ohio Agriculture Mental Health Alliance's survey and explore practical strategies for coping with stress and prioritizing wellbeing on the farm.

 Main Topics Covered:

1. Mental Health in Farming: The importance of addressing mental health issues among farmers and the impact on their operations and communities.

2. Survey Findings: Results from the Ohio Agriculture Mental Health Alliance's survey, including high levels of loneliness and the need for mental health services.

3. Stressors in Farming: Common stressors such as weather, markets, and the pressure of farm succession.

4. Coping Strategies: Effective strategies for managing stress, including taking breaks, social interaction, and finding personal activities that reduce stress.

5. Community Support: The role of family, friends, and community resources in supporting farmers' mental health.

6. Long-term Wellness: Sustainable plans for maintaining mental health, including regular physical check-ups and consistent exercise.

7. Resources: Information on the 9-8-8 hotline and other mental health resources available to farmers.

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Other Resources mentioned:
ODA Farm Stress Resources: https://agri.ohio.gov/gotyourback/
OSU Farm Stress Resources: https://u.osu.edu/farmstress/ 

Transcription

Speaker 1 (00:08):Welcome to Ag Credit, set it your go-to podcast for insights on farm finance and maximizing your return on investment. Join us as we talk to industry leaders, financial experts, and area farmers, bringing you skillful advice and strategies to grow your farm's financial future ag credit setting where farm finance goes beyond the balance sheet.

Phil Young (00:37):Welcome back to another episode of Ag Credit Said It where we take you beyond the balance sheet of farm finance. Today we're focusing on a vital topic, mental health and farming. Our guest expert is Sarah Noggle, OSU extension educator in Paulding County. Today we'll be discussing recent findings from Ohio, agriculture Mental health alliances recent survey and explore practical strategies to cope with stress and prioritize wellbeing on the farm. We have a lot to get to in this episode, so let's dive right in. Sarah, thank you for joining us today.

Sarah Noggle (01:07):Thanks, Phil.

Phil Young (01:09):Good for you to be here. You're a second timer I believe

Sarah Noggle (01:11):On the podcast,

Phil Young (01:12):So yeah, welcome back. Well, we're going to jump right in here. Can you share, I know there was a recent survey done. Can you share a little bit about the Ohio Agricultural Alliance? Sorry, I butchered that. Ohio Agriculture Mental Health Alliance, that's a mouthful in its mission and maybe the survey they just did.

Sarah Noggle (01:29):Yeah, so that's been a great partnership across multiple entities in Ohio. The survey results came out late September,

Phil Young (01:37):And

Sarah Noggle (01:38):So we really looked at that partnership and getting to what are some of the root causes of the stresses on the farm, but are we doing anything to address those, I think is the main goal of that alliance and what are the resources that are needed across Ohio? So I think that was one of the biggest things. The goal of that was for and of those people, part of them said that kept them from their regular work on the farm in the last 10 to 30 days where they couldn't function on their family farm. And so I thought that was interesting just seeing that 50% of the respondents scored as likely to be experiencing loneliness with nearly one in five standing that they often felt isolated from others. And we have to look at a lot of different things from the census age of our farmers overall.

(02:28):Where are they working? We came off of Covid, so it's after Covid with that, but just saying, I do get lonely working alone. I think a lot of that stems, and we found that in the survey was there's a lot of pressure on passing that farm from one generation to the next and not knowing who are the heirs for that or what is the process or am I prepared or maybe I don't have any heirs that want to take this over what happens? I don't want the farm to be sold off. So I think those were a lot of things that we saw in there, but 44% of the people that responded said that there was at least one time in the past 12 months when they felt they needed mental or emotional healthcare or counseling services. And of those half stated, they did not get any services they needed and nearly one quarter stated that they did receive some services, but they felt they needed more than just a one time type of go in and talk to someone. They needed that consistency. But it was hard with the farm, the nature of our farms, just getting in that consistency and getting out, talking with someone

Phil Young (03:34):I skimmed over I think some results maybe from this one and it was, I think a lot of people were like, I just physically don't have time, and they were worried about the cost of it. They're like, I just don't think I can afford this. Can you speak to that at all or? Yeah,

Sarah Noggle (03:47):Absolutely. So I think if we ever get a farm bill passed or when we get the farm bill passed, I know there's some legislation in there talking about both childcare and healthcare and I'm on a team through Ohio State that we're getting ready to launch that curriculum, looking at partnering with our different places where people can get counseling services. There's a lot of H PSAs or health places where we're in shortages across all of rural Ohio. 70% of Ohio is rural, and when you look at the hours we're working through some of the programs we partner with, like Farm Stress Certified, helping to show those providers that, hey, when someone doesn't show up, it's not because they're canceling at the last minute. There might be livestock that need to be fed or something that happens. We're looking at because of those shortages, those preventative routine appointments, you have to schedule those six, seven months in advance and we're seeing that as a consistency across Ohio. And so while they try to schedule those, they don't always follow through with those appointments. And so I think that's one of the things that we have to look at. The other thing is because of the shortage, their hours are a lot of 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM and that consistency and then that's just true medical doctors, that's not vision, that's not dental, that's not mental health services, and they're even less open just because there's just not enough people for the demand of those services in our rural communities.

Phil Young (05:19):Yeah. Do you think, I guess, and we kind of talked a little bit of this, but how do you think mental health of farmers impacts their overall farming operation and maybe even wider their communities? I mean, what's the impact there?

Sarah Noggle (05:29):So I think that's a hard one to talk about, but one that needs to be talked about and when we look at our communities, farmers are the heartbeat of the community. When you think about that, and when I think of farmers, I think of strong resilient risk takers supported of community activities. And when we look at that in our rural communities, sometimes it's hard to say, I need to reach out and I need help. And so when we think about those rural communities, I think it's difficult for people to reach out, but it's that timing. They're so busy. There's more and more things that you have to look at on the farm, whether it's marketing livestock or crops, whether it's just routine maintenance, whether it's lack of people wanting to come and work. We don't have those summer employees. I just did an interview with some farmers and they said one of the things, and I thought this was interesting, two different ones brought this up.

(06:25):Out of five, I interviewed and said, we look at our school sports and we're, completely supportive of that from the standpoint of having kids, but there used to be a whole month of no contact for sports and it usually fell in the month of July and now it's down to five days across the state when you're looking at high school sports. But they said, we can't get those kids to work because it's important for them to be at open gyms and those type of things. And while they're not mandatory, it takes away our labor force because they feel that pressure in our rural communities. And so how do we talk about that in our rural communities? And I thought that's a great point, just looking at just another side of that stress where there's not a consistent, A lot of the coaches were not always school employees, so practices were at all different times of the day in the summer months and those type of things, and even after school hours. And I thought, that's a really good point. And then the involvement of how many, I mean my own kids did that, played from third grade on a sport and those things, and it was more than just one day a week. It used to be it's two and three and you have multiple practices. And I thought you're right. That's just something we never thought about, even in the survey work that we had done.

Phil Young (07:43):Just the stress of finding help.

Sarah Noggle (07:46):Yeah, I

Phil Young (07:46):Just consistent help. Yeah. I know growing up a lot of people would bail hay, unload hay, and in high school, and obviously I grew up on a farm, we did that. And so I know that's been a challenge for guys that have livestock. It's just like you physically can't find people that either have the time or have experience doing it or it's tough. Yeah. So that's another, yeah. What are some common stressors that farmers face that can lead to mental health challenges?

Sarah Noggle (08:18):So I think the typical ones that I always break it down into what is controlled and what is uncontrolled. And so those uncontrolled stresses, I think the number one that comes up is weather in markets. And I think those are ones that we can't control those, but it's a constant stress because it dictates everything you're doing, whether it's livestock or crops. But I think we have to look at are they doing their homework? Are you in the off season putting in that time? Just like comparing that to those athletes. If you quit all season and say, I do need a break, which I think need to take those breaks and celebrate those successes, whether it's the end of planting, the end of harvest, the end of raising out this head, this group of livestock. But I think looking at what can I do? How can I prepare?

(09:11):Can I fit enlarging that farm or can I give up some of those acres and still have that good return on investment? And I think it comes down to that financial balance sheet. Everything's driven by those finances, but it's something that kids don't like to do homework and adults don't like to do homework. I mean, when you look at someone who has a degree who wants to go back to college and do that, but I think it makes a difference in what you plan for. And then finding out what's the truth in that. What program truly helps me? Or I look at that generational difference. People are so busy, are we doing that homework in the off season too? And just looking at how do I fill out that paperwork from one generation to the next? And I always equate that to that whole farm succession plan.

(10:02):I think farm succession is so different than what I think of. It's not just passing from one generation to the next. It's the success of your farm and what's that homework you're doing, whether it's balance sheets, but is it taking a journal and writing down something you do on the farm every day that no one else is doing? When you think about that, and we've pushed different people to do that and our farm succession planning through OSU extension just to say, okay, I filled out this form at FSA today. Well, what was it? Could anyone else do that if I were gone from this business entity, it's not like a McDonald's that if the friar's down, there's someone else that knows how to jump in. Do you have someone else trained to do that? And I think it's one of the things we have to keep thinking about is what is that plan that you have and what are those things? But it's not always easy. You're just so busy just getting through the day in and the day out, but are you taking the time to do that? A little extra homework.

Phil Young (10:59):Yeah. Are you saying even just having a good strategy for a to-do list, can that solve a lot of your stress is just like, Hey, it's the farmers love to farm, they don't like to do paperwork. Absolutely. And so that's my stress is I got to do a sit down and do all this QuickBooks. I got to sit down and do my financials. I got to sit down, do FSA paperwork. That's the stuff they stress about. Is that what you're saying?

Sarah Noggle (11:23):There's a lot of stress and stress of the unknown that, oh goodness, okay. Someone either passed away on the farm or someone's not doing that role, but we didn't have the best training plan to train that next person to do that job.

(11:38):And it's different on every farm. Is it that rite of passage that only the elder generation runs the combine, or is it, can you put someone younger in there and look at that value to say, okay, we know how to do this, or Hey, I always laugh, I'll pull my dad into this. I always type faster than him and I didn't know what I was typing, but I could type faster and I'd be like, what do you want me to type and what do you want me to input? Oh, it's the check register and some of those things. But I think that's involving and that's a big part of that drive and passing that farm from one generation to the next is getting that generation involved.

Phil Young (12:14):Yeah. Yeah, I agree. Can you share effective strategies for farmers to manage stress and just maintain their mental health?

Sarah Noggle (12:22):So I think one of the biggest things is you get so busy you don't take time to step foot off the farm where you're enjoying it, something. And it can be an hour take some time to think and reflect for you. And I think sometimes you get so busy you don't take those times to get to that community event because you're super busy, but say, okay, today I'm going to make sure I'm walking away and I'm interacting with others. I think it's having the conversations, not just the text conversations that we're seeing is

(12:59):We need that social interaction. We're creatures of that social interaction and just, it's not always just your family too. Having that interaction with someone similar age as you, someone who's doing some of those things that I'm not alone in this situation. We're feeling some of those same pressures on the farm. Okay, what are you doing about that? Asking those questions. And I think that's just sometimes we're lacking that because I think our farms are enough bigger but so busy it's hard to do that or it's just the quick text message. But I think you need that true. I need to hear someone's voice to say, how are you really doing? And I think that's really hard.

(13:41):And I think the coping strategies, it's finding something though that you like for you, I'm not a yoga person, but the next person might be. So you have to find something that you enjoy doing. And if it's going to the coffee shop for an hour, two days a week, go to the coffee shop for an hour, two days a week, that work will wait. But when you pull and drain everything out, that cortisol in your body just clouds the environment. The more cortisol you get, the more and more that cloudy. You can't think clearly. I think that's what it is, is social interaction helps get rid of that cortisol and change those cortisol levels in your body. Some of that science behind is just finding something that fits for you.

Phil Young (14:24):Nice. Okay. What role do family, friends and community resources play in supporting farmers' mental health, wellbeing?

Sarah Noggle (14:33):I think it's huge, and I think I go back to the absence of the front porch. We don't see people doing those neighborly things as much at all times of the year. You'll pick up near a holiday, you'll pick up near the county fair and you'll do something for someone else. But I think it's a two-way street that whether you're giving back to one of your neighbors or your neighbors are giving something to you, I think that role that our families, our neighbors, our community plays is just huge. And just finding those connections and saying, it doesn't matter if you are covered in manure or grease or you're super dirty, we want you to come and do that activity. And sometimes it's just in those super busy times of the year, I always share, did you ever think about your farmer friends out there? And I know Ag credit, you've done this. I know FFA chapters have done this, lots of different entities, just that meal when it's in the heat of harvest, spreading that out. I said, now we just got to get everyone not to do 'em all on the same night,

Phil Young (15:34):Right? Yeah, yeah. I went out and delivered some snack bags, and so I think it was just nice to see a different face. I think see someone else on the farm, it's like, Hey, just saying, hey, yeah, I don't want to spend a half hour there. Want to spend two minutes there and just say, Hey, not want to distract from what you got going on.

Sarah Noggle (15:50):Yeah, you're busy. But yeah, we do care about you. And I think that's the other thing is that support, you have support and you're not walking alone through this.

Phil Young (15:58):Yeah. Yeah. We kind of talked a little bit about this, but as far as many people find it difficult to just ask for help. So what advice do you have for farmers who maybe struggle with that, just hesitant to reach out?

Sarah Noggle (16:11):So I go back that I'm truly, I believe that we can't just text everything, but 9 8 8 is a new hotline, and so I'll make that parallel to 9 1 1. It works similar to 9 1 1, but it is truly for substance abuse and mental health counseling. It is completely free. The one thing why it doesn't function like 9 1 1 is that it will go to the location of where your area code is. And so if you have a phone from Florida, it's going to transfer you to Florida. Now you just have to say, if you ever call or text that again, you can do either one call or text just that, Hey, I'm in northwest Ohio or I'm in northeast Indiana or Southwest Michigan because it will connect you with local resources, but those are trained counselors there 24 7, 365 days of the year. And it can just be, I just need someone to vent to.

(17:04):One of the things that 9 88 has done is they have trained a lot of rural counselors and they're paying them for that time. So they're there, they're available to connect resources, and when they find out if it is something farming, they have resources that we've connected through a lot of different entities, the Mental Health Alliance that we talked about, that survey to say, here are some resources. Maybe that expert is not a counselor in farming, but oh, they're saying there's some financial pressures. Where can I send them? And just helping them go through some of those pros and cons. Again, those sessions are free. You're not just limited to one. I say don't abuse it, but there are a lot of people that need that. Just I need that unbiased opinion of someone that I can just talk to or text or do that. And they're there right away

Phil Young (17:54):Anonymous, I'm assuming.

Sarah Noggle (17:55):Right? It is absolutely anonymous. Yeah. They're

Phil Young (17:57):Not going to ask you all your,

Sarah Noggle (17:58):No, they're not going to ask you anything other than if they say, well, what part of the state are you in for resources? They're going to go northwest, northeast Ohio. They're not so specific that they need to know we're right here in Van Wert County or anything like that.

Phil Young (18:11):Nice. Okay. Other than doing 9, 8, 8, if someone's experiencing a mental health crisis, is there any other immediate steps they need to take?

Sarah Noggle (18:20):Yeah, so I think it's so important to know if you're that support person, don't leave that person alone. And again, when they're willing to reach out, they're more of a crisis situation. And so setting some consistent things, whether I'm going to check back in on you, if you feel that your gut feeling is they're okay, there's, they're not going to be any harm to themselves. It's not a suicide situation, but making a consistent time to say, I will check in. And again, making sure it fits for both of you. I'm calling you tomorrow at three o'clock, but if you are that support person, you have to follow through that you can't forget. Because sometimes when you're in a mental health crisis, the one time you reach out, if they forget about you, sometimes it ends the other way and we can look at that suicide situation.

(19:13):And that's what the research has said is if you say you're going to follow up up with them, if it has to be two days, but again, that's going to have that person wait and look forward to something like there is one person caring about me that's going to check in. And again, it might take me two or three times before I'm even willing to go the next step. The other thing we have is Ohio State extension. We have a great, it's u.osu.edu/farmstress that connects you to a lot of those resources. It will connect you with Ohio Department of Agriculture has a got your back campaign. So it's all on our website. It's kind of the landing page. We have county by county mental health guidelines right there on that. And those were just updated in the last three weeks. And so looking at October, those were updated and we can see those resources county by county in Ohio, it will pull to Ohio Farm Bureau and the American Farm Bureau Federation. They have some great resources that some of it's duplicates, but again, where you can reach out, it goes through to the Ohio Mental Health Alliance, the Ohio Suicide Foundation. There are so many resources there, including 9, 8, 8 just to say, Hey, here are things you can do to support. Here are organizations to pick you up here are depending on what you need, different opportunities.

Phil Young (20:37):Okay, nice. Good. So a couple more questions here. One is long-term wellness. We talked maybe some short-term stuff, but are there things that farmers can do like a sustainable plan for mental health for the long-term, I guess, or,

Sarah Noggle (20:54):Yeah, so I think looking at that, and this is going to come through in some of the farm bill, is getting that yearly physical and finding out where you are in your true health. And it's not something, it's not the spouse nagging on you or all those things, but that is truly your baseline to see where you are. And then long-term, looking at who is it that I talk to? Am I setting that time aside? How do I find different things? Looking at, if I'm planning for the year, is it, Hey, I'm going to actually put that on my calendar to go to this meeting. There's lots of meetings, but that's that connection sometime. But it's also saying, what do I need to do? Working out and farming is very physical, but one of the things we're finding is farmers have some of the highest rates of hypertension, high cholesterol, high diabetes, a lot of those mental health things because while we're raising food to feed the world, we're not always eating the best because it's that lack of time, I think. And so getting that healthy fitness, getting out and they say, even though you might be doing, I don't know, 50,000 steps a day on the farm, or you're up and down the grain bins, doing a consistent workout 30 minutes a day, two to three times a week is huge for that human health. But that equates to relieving stress. And so that health side is one that we're finding is one of the key things.

Phil Young (22:30):Okay, nice. Closing thoughts here. What's a message you hope farmers take away from either the survey results or just our conversation today? What's kind of the one or two things you wish they'd take away from this?

Sarah Noggle (22:43):So I think this is a hard one, and this is heartfelt, but you are only as strong as you are. You are more important than any farm you ever have. Your health, your wellbeing, your life is so much more important than just that farm. There will always be problems that come up. There will always be risks, there will always be things to overcome. But finding out that you are more important that, and I also think that if you are actively involved, what are you doing to plan for that situation? Are you making the job task and saying, okay, what can I give up Again, it's looking at that balance that I don't have to do everything and I'm not sharing that with anyone. I think that's hard to look at that are farms that have great plans, but I think it's those people that are doing their homework to say, I'm putting some time in, but what is my job task?

(23:39):If I'm the one on the farm going through and this is my role, well, who else is my backup? And have I even had that conversation on where are those things? And I think that comes back to that whole farm succession, the success of the farm. How do I pass that along? And I think that's so key that, hey, here's where those financial sheets are talking and having that open conversation, not just with, maybe it's, and I look at this, a lot of the times our farms are male dominated. Who else knows? Is it bringing that spouse to the table? They might not be doing the physical side of the farming, but there's a role that they're playing and they need to know, but they can help out at times. And so bringing everyone on that page and just saying, Hey, or if you have to cut. I think we're going into a time where we're going to see some financial struggles on the farm. What are the things that we truly can cut and how do we talk about that? But I think sometimes that's that family conversation too, to say, Hey, we're not doing five extracurricular sports, or we're not going on three vacations this year. We're going to choose one good thing. But that's how we have to balance and having that open conversation.

Phil Young (24:52):Yeah. Good. Well, thank you, Sarah. Yeah. Well thank you for joining us for this insightful conversation with Sarah Noggle from OSU Extension. We hope you gained some valuable insights into the importance of mental health and agriculture and learned some practical strategies to protect the most important asset on the farm. And that's you. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform. And remember, you're not alone. Reach out, connect and prioritize your wellbeing. We'll talk to you next time. Thanks guys.

Speaker 1 (25:26):Thank you for listening to Ag Credit Said It. Be sure to subscribe in your favorite podcast app or join us through our website at agcredit.net so you never miss an episode.