“I grew up on a dairy farm watching my dad. It’s a well-deserved pride associated with farming. They’re out there 16 hours a day, 7 days a week.”
We made a video showing four minutes of highlights from Maddy Vanderkooy’s recent presentation to senators on the Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee.
Maddy is the Washington State University program coordinator for the Western Region Agriculture Stress Assistance Program. She explained that the suicide rate for farmers and farm workers is higher than for the general population, and men comprise the large majority of those suicides. “It’s a silent struggle we’re wanting to address,” she said.
A Washington State University press release about the presentation mentions special resources for farmers, including a voucher program for free counseling services from a psychologist with a background in farming, and access to free financial consulting from a WSU agricultural economist.
The senators in attendance were T’wina Nobles (D-Lakewood), Drew Hansen (D-Bainbridge Island), Judy Warnick (R-Moses Lake), Matt Boehnke (R-Kennewick), and Vandana Slatter (D-Bellevue).