“Depression affects way more people than we realize”
MDA-led coalition kicks off mental health awareness campaign
Written by Jonathan Eisenthal
“Depression affects way more people than we realize, and the thing is to be able to talk about it, and to get people to the help they need,” Wes Beck said. “If you need help, don’t go it alone.”
A St. James farmer and president of Minnesota Corn Growers, Beck knew right away when Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) asked for help with mental health outreach, Minnesota Corn needed to answer the call.
MDA doesn’t have dedicated funds for media buys, and the quickest way to reach people in trouble was to air messages on the 150 independent AM and FM radio stations across Minnesota that pull in a large farm audience.
The campaign is being coordinated by the MDA’s Meg Moynihan, a dairy farmer herself, and no stranger to the stresses that hit farmers hard. In addition to the radio spots, MDA will work with agricultural communities on offering workshops that teach people to recognize the signs that a person is thinking of suicide, and how to get them the help they need.
“You have Extension staff, coop agronomists, veterinarians, insurance salespeople, seed and equipment dealers—people who come out to farms on a pretty regular basis,” Moynihan said. “They might sense that something is wrong. And it can be as simple as asking a farmer what’s going on, and offering to call or text the 988 Lifeline.”
MDA has operated a nation-leading program for suicide prevention and mental health support for decades, but the special effort rolled out in May 2026 (Mental Health Awareness Month) and continuing through the growing season, seeks to meet the perfect storm of high prices for fuel, fertilizer and other inputs, coming at the same time as low grain prices. On top of this, a demographic wave—many farmers coming to or already at retirement age—adds the pressure of managing the hand-off of the farm to the next generation. This combination of factors has some farmers feeling desperate, according to MDA Commissioner Thom Petersen, long a champion of mental health services for farmers.
“There is a lot of help you can access,” said Petersen, who grew up in the 1980s and remembers well the impact of the farm crisis in those years. He says the programs MDA has today are a direct result of the terrible difficulties farmers faced in that time.
“With our Farm Advocate program, we have 12 farm advocates that are free and confidential that help farmers,” Petersen said. “Our Rural Finance Authority offers low-interest loans to farmers to help them in times of trouble, our Farmer Lender Mediation programs, and the Farmers Legal Action Group—all these things came out of the ‘80s. And then over the years, we’ve added the mental health counselors. It’s a good foundation to help farmers who are in distress.”
To date, campaign contributors include:
- Minnesota Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI)
- Minnesota Cattlemen’s Association
- Minnesota Corn Research & Promotion Council
- Minnesota Foundation for Agriculture
- Minnesota Grocers Association
- Minnesota Pork Producers Association
- Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council
- Minnesota Association of Wheat Growers
- Minnesota Wheat Research and Promotion Council
- Second Harvest Heartland
Organizations or businesses looking to support the campaign efforts can contact Meg Moynihan at meg.moynihan@state.mn.us.
Additional agricultural mental health, stress, financial resources, and other information are available at www.mnfarmstress.com.
