The Cost of Stress: How Financial Planning Could Save Lives on Farms

By Maria Lameiras

Across rural America, the struggles of farm families go far beyond the fields. While farmers often speak of weather, pests or prices, research shows that what weighs most heavily on their minds and their health is money. Financial stress is emerging as one of the most critical factors in farmer wellbeing and suicide prevention.

Farmers already face suicide rates 3.5 times higher than the national average, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Economic pressure is one of the leading contributors. When a family’s livelihood and land are tied directly to market swings and debt, financial strain can feel like a personal failure rather than a business challenge.

Economic pressures in agriculture

Data from Yangxuan Liu, associate professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES), highlights how deep the economic challenges run. For nearly three decades, U.S. peanut and cotton growers have rarely earned enough to cover production costs.

From 1995 through 2023, peanut farmers posted profits in only five of those 29 years, losing an average of $57 per acre overall. Cotton producers fared even worse: from 1997 through 2023, they saw positive returns in only four years, averaging $94 per acre in losses.

These figures exclude government payments and crop insurance, meaning the numbers reflect what farmers earned or lost on the ground. The findings underscore what many producers already know: rising input costs, equipment expenses and stagnant crop prices have left entire sectors operating at a loss for most of a generation.

Those sustained deficits don’t just affect balance sheets. They ripple through entire communities, threatening the long-term sustainability of agriculture. They also contribute to the quiet, personal crisis many farmers face: chronic stress that can lead to anxiety, depression and, in some cases, suicide.

The link between finances and mental health

A 2025 study by UGA researcher Anna Scheyett and colleagues confirms how closely finances and mental health are intertwined. The study surveyed 310 farmers at two commodity conferences to identify which financial topics could most effectively reduce stress. Nearly every topic, ranging from debt management to tax planning, was rated as helpful, but two stood out above the rest: disaster assistance programs and government financial support programs.

These findings reveal that farmers don’t just want emotional support, they want tools, information and guidance that help them regain control of their finances.

“Financial literacy and access to reliable resources are mental-health interventions for farmers,” said Scheyett, a specialist for UGA Cooperative Extension.

In December, Scheyett was recognized by the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) with the 2025 Flame of Hope Award. Selected from more than 250 nominations and one of only 10 recipients statewide, she was honored for her consistent, practical efforts to strengthen hope and support in Georgia’s behavioral-health system, especially through her work with rural communities and farm families.