Lawmakers in Washington Urged to Address the Farmer Suicide Crisis
While the United States House of Representatives is set to vote on a farm bill today (5/18), representatives of the farm industry say farmers need help - and they need it now!
House Speaker Paul Ryan is urging his members to pass the $868-billion farm bill that also includes federal subsidies for farmers and ranchers.
The Farmers Union, the nation's second largest farm organization, is calling on lawmakers to address what it calls "a suicide crisis."
According to the Centers for Disease Control, farmers have the highest suicide rate among all occupational groups - and the numbers are on the up-swing.
Some of the contributing factors for farmer suicides include overall stress, the weather, financial risk and volatile markets.
The Farmers Union uses the dairy industry as an example. Dairy farmers are in their fourth year of milk prices being lower than production costs.
Source: Farmers Union
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