Effort Aims To Raise Farmer Suicide Rate Awareness

BERLIN – A new campaign aims to raise awareness regarding the increased risk of suicide facing farmers.

Farmers are three times more likely to die by suicide than those outside the agriculture industry, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). To address that fact, local organizations have launched the “Save a Shore Farmer” outreach campaign.

“The CDC report highlighted three occupations that suffer high rates of suicide: farmers, forestry workers, and watermen,” said Kim Klump, president of the Klump Fund. “Because agriculture is a keystone of our local economy, and because so many local businesses are dependent on farming, we and our partners put together a program of advertising, education and resource availability aimed directly at those who work the soil, and those who depend on them.”

As 2018 proved to be a particularly difficult year for local farmers, who faced the impacts of too much rain, falling prices and trade wars, those with the Jesse Klump Suicide Awareness and Prevention Program are especially eager to share available resources with those who may be in need of help.

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