The Ohio Department of Agriculture launched 鈥淕ot Your Back" on Tuesday, a program designed to connect farmers around the state with mental health resources in their area, and help combat the stigma that surrounds the issue.

鈥淔or farmers to come forward and start to talk for the first time about these things, we recognize, is going to be a challenge,鈥� says state agriculture director Dorothy Pelanda. 鈥淪o we鈥檙e here to provide them with the resources and the opportunities for us to reach out to them with some expert help.鈥�

Nathan Brown, a first-generation farmer in Hyland County, says that makes this sort of collaborative program essential for an occupation that sees twice as many suicides as the general population, and has faced a set of unique challenges in recent years.

In 2019, heavy rains from planting their fields. It was the state's worst weather-prevented planting season on record.

鈥淛ust being able to get your crops planted has a big psychological effect on guys," Brown says. "Because that鈥檚 who they are."

He mentions the Trump administration's with China as another source of stress.

鈥淐hina is our number one importer of soybeans," Brown says. "They buy a lot of pork, they buy a lot of chicken. So our markets have fallen off the last few years."

Beyond the problems specific to this season, though, Brown says isolation and the heavy responsibility of farming both contribute to mental health issues.

鈥淎t the end of the day, when you鈥檙e on the farm by yourself making those decisions, you鈥檙e the only one accountable for that,鈥� he says.

But Brown hopes the collaborative nature of the program will fight those feelings of isolation.

鈥淭his program is 鈥榃e got your back, guy.鈥� It鈥檚 not all you," he says. "You鈥檙e not alone, we can talk about it, we can seek treatment, whatever you need, whatever the best option for you, let鈥檚 do it, let鈥檚 do it together.鈥�