Voices For Suicide Prevention
Voices For Suicide Prevention
A Farmer Shares Why Mental Health Matters In Agriculture
The heart of Ohio agriculture beats inside family trucks, quiet cab rides, and long rows that hold equal parts pride and pressure. We sit with first‑generation farmer Nathan Brown to trace the real story behind the harvest: the money paid up front, the machinery that breaks at the worst time, and weather that never reads the plan. Nathan shares how he scaled from 25 acres to 2,000, why conservation practices ground his work, and what it took to exit cattle during a drought without losing hope or identity.
The conversation turns to mental health where the stakes are human and immediate. Nathan names the stigma farmers face, the belief they must fix everything alone, and the danger of silent struggle. He offers a toolkit built on lived experience: “get your five” trusted contacts, call to vent before rumination takes over, step away for a few hours to reset, and treat counseling like any other professional service. You’ll hear why subtle signals on a farm speak volumes and how persistence can save a life.
We also explore the wider system: market swings, policy shocks, and public narratives that misread modern farming. Nathan outlines simple ways organizations can help, from short mental health segments at ag events to creating real on‑ramps for new producers.
If this resonates, subscribe, share the episode with someone in agriculture, and leave a review to help more farmers and families find practical support and hopeful stories. Your voice helps break stigma and builds a safer, stronger farm community.
Welcome to Voices for Suicide Prevention. As we like to say, our conversations are real talk, real honest, real life. I'm Stephanie Booker.
SPEAKER_01:And I'm Scott Light. I think if we were to go around, Stephanie, and ask Ohioans, what's the biggest industry in our state? You know we'd get a variety of answers, but folks, there is only one. And there has been only one for a long time in our state. It is agriculture. We also know that Ohio farmers and ag producers out there are under tremendous stress and they often don't address it. Today, we're going to. We are honored to have the president of the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation, Nathan Brown, joining us. Nathan, welcome. Oh, thank you for having me. It's good to have you.
SPEAKER_02:And Nathan, uh, as we were learning, you're a first-generation farmer in Hillsboro, um, which is rather unusual to be a first generation farmer. Um, tell us a little bit about yourself and your farm.
SPEAKER_00:I'm a first generation farmer. I raise root crops primarily. Um I I do have some livestock, you know, spread out here and there, but uh, you know, really found my passion for agriculture when I was about eight years old. Um, I I used to crawl through the fence and help my neighbor set tobacco. And uh, you know, as as I grew through my teenage years, I had opportunities um to work for that farmer more full-time after school and stuff. And then as I was graduating high school and trying to figure out what I was going to do for a career, he came to me one day and said, Hey, uh, if you're interested in farming, like I would like to help you get started. And so him and a series of other neighbors give me a few opportunities. And I've always been one that if there's an opportunity there, no matter if you're sure about it or not, you at least explore it. And so um I've been blessed um many times over since then. Um, today I've grown my my road crop operate operation from about 25 acres was my first crop in 2002, and so today we farm about 2,000 acres of road crops. Wow. Met my wife right after high school. We got married in 2002, too. So 2002 was a big year for us. Um, we have twin boys that are freshmen in high school right now, and my daughter is in seventh grade, and uh they are keeping us very busy with school and extracurricular activities and and just being there to farm and helping out.
SPEAKER_01:You mentioned your kids. Are they uh are they curious about about farming, about about agriculture?
SPEAKER_00:Oh yeah, they're very much uh uh interested in what I do on a daily basis. My oldest son, I say if it's got a steering wheel, he's gonna be a part of it. Okay. Um my younger twin Luke, he he likes livestock, and so he's the one that's chasing sheep and cows and whatever. Um, and then we just call the daughter the boss. Okay. Smart man.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. And and I think what is unique, again, that whole first generation uh farming, I I would think it would not be it a normal thing to happen in agriculture these days.
SPEAKER_00:There are not a lot of first generation farmers nowadays. Um, you know, farming, even when I started in 2002, was a very difficult um career path to go down. Uh you got there's lots of barriers to getting into agriculture, you know, access to land, whether you are buying it or cash renting it, um, machinery, acquiring machinery, the cost of machinery, the cost of new machinery today, um, the cost of inputs. Uh, you know, there there are so many challenges that come along with getting into the occupation. And then once you're there, trying to navigate um the markets and and you know, societal pressures, and there's there's a lot more to agriculture than just you know, cows and sows and plows, you know. It it's a full-time business. And you know, the one big thing about it is it's it's an awesome lifestyle. It it is a business, and we have to run our farms as businesses, but it's also a lifestyle, like, you know, because I that's that's where I live, that's where I work, it's where, you know, at the end of the day, when my work day's over, I go from the barn that's beside the house into the house, you know. And when I look out the window in the morning when the sun's coming up, I'm looking at my crops or my livestock or you know, whatever. So um there's also those opportun, you know, the the challenges of being able to shut off your your business and your mine.
SPEAKER_01:Right. What um you mentioned row crops and you have livestock too. Uh tell us what you're growing and and the livestock you have.
SPEAKER_00:So primarily we focus on corn and soybeans in today's markets and stuff. That's that's primarily what most farmers in Ohio grows. Um every once in a while we'll we'll do some uh some wheat. Um one thing I I'm very conservation-minded, and so I I concentrate on trying to to uh grow my soil health and and I do a lot of cover crops and a lot of you know trying to make sure that I'm conserving the land and everything the best of my abilities. Uh we did have a cow calf operation um up until last year, and we decided at that point in time with the drought and stuff last year, it was really tough. I started having to haul water on and and my livestock were all on places that I didn't own, I was cashuring those, and and so you know, the the fences weren't the best and the water sources weren't the best, and I was hauling water and I was hauling hay, and you know, I pretty much fed all of my hay from the first of July till uh about the first of November, and then I was out of hay, and it's like, do you keep the cows and try to buy hay? And you know, if you were in southern Ohio last summer, we experienced such a bad drought that that there wasn't an abundance of hay to be found, and so we just decided at that point in time that we would exit the the uh the cattle business. Um, but I do have my you know, my kids are in 4-H and stuff, and so we do have a flock of sheep, mainly around the the show stock side of things. Um, because again, my one son, he absolutely loves the livestock part of it, and that's kind of his thing. Um, but then I do have some hair sheep that I graze and and kind of incorporate that into my into my cropping systems and my soil health.
SPEAKER_02:So, how do you manage your self-care, your mental wellness?
SPEAKER_00:We talk about the challenges in agriculture and riding on a tractor and and seeing the sunset and looking over and seeing my kids um operating a tractor right beside me in the field, or putting them out there to do to some field work for me. I mean, those are the things that bring joy to me. Um, but there are so many stresses, and there's so many things. Basically, everything a farmer does is out of their control. I mean, we can try to manage, but we're at the mercy of buying our inputs from retailers and and you know, we can buy the best seed, we can buy the best machinery, and all that stuff comes at a cost too. Um, we can try to plant when it's the right time, we try to harvest when it's the right time, but at the end of the day, Mother Nature controls what we grow in that field, and then after at the end of the year, we're sitting here with a crop, and you know, we are told what we're gonna sell it for. So a lot of the things that I've learned over the years is we've got a lot of work that has to be done, but I have to take time for myself, and I have to be willing to take time for my kids, to take time for my family, to take time for the things that I find joy in, even in those busy seasons. Because in April, in May, you know, that is our our sprinting season. It's we've got a very short window to get our crops planted. Um and then kind of in the fall, we're more in our marathon season. That's what I kind of the analogies I use. But um, in both those seasons, we have to remember that it's okay to have a bad day. It's okay. I mean, stuff's gonna break down, things are gonna get goofed up. It's it's that's life. But we have to take time. Um, I got a group of five friends, and I tell guys, get your five. That we pretty much all call each other on if not every day or every you know, every couple days, and just basically we we sit there and have a complaining session to each other. But it, you know, it's it's good for all of us. As farmers, we're siloed a lot because we work by ourselves for the most part. You may have employees, but still you spend the majority of the day, if you're uh a road crop farmer, in a little four foot by four foot box, a a cab of something, whether it's a tractor or a sprayer or even a pickup truck or a semi-truck. Um and so you can you get a lot of times um you get a little time too much time to think sometimes. And so uh if if I like calling buddies up just to distract myself sometimes.
SPEAKER_01:That's smart. That's good. I mean, just to have that, even if you like you you use the word complain, but people need to vent. They just need to get it out, right? It's a support system that you've built.
SPEAKER_00:Yes. I can't pour from my cup in somebody else's cup if if if I'm not if I'm not at my best. And so being able to to to vent and get rid of some of that toxicness helps me be able to help the next person.
SPEAKER_01:So let's talk about your message and your role, because you have other official titles. Um, as we mentioned, president of the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation. So let me ask you this, Nathan. Uh when you talk to other farmers out there, those who aren't in your tight-knit group, how do you encourage other farmers out there again to to Stephanie's question earlier? Try to take a little self-care back, bring it back to the farm.
SPEAKER_00:You know, I get a lot of opportunities on my own to to go around and speak at different, not only farm bureau events, but uh other farm related events. And I always I always go back to your your farm is only as good as you are. And if you can't, if if you're struggling, um, your farm's struggling. And it's hard to see that sometimes. I know I've got a friend of mine, he didn't live very close, he didn't live very far from me, but he called me up, that was probably five miles from me. He called me up one day and said, Hey, I need your help. I got hogs at loose, which he raised hogs and had them in his barn. I thought it was just was kind of a weird request, you know, why if you got hogs out, why aren't you getting your neighbor, you know, that's a lot closer to me. And and uh so I went over there because it just something wasn't right. And uh when I got there, he had already gotten hogs back in by that point in time, and so I helped him fix the hole where they got out, and we kind of talked, and as I pulled in, I started looking around the farm and and I I started noticing how things were out of place, um, things were starting to look kind of run down, and and so we we had that conversation. I I started asking, you know, what's going on? I said, you know, things things around here don't look the same. Of course, he didn't want to admit it, and you know, we none of us do. And so, you know, he tried to push me out the door first thing, of course. I s I dug my heels in and said, Brandon, I said, we need to have a conversation here, because you know, you're not being your best at the moment, because I can see it, because your hogs got out, you've got a mess in the barn lot, so what's going on? And I I tell guys all the time if you see something like that to one of your friends, one of your neighbors, um, especially ag professionals, bankers, fertilize um salesmen, i if you go on to a farm and you see something that's out of place, say something, ask it, and you're probably gonna get some pushback. Uh eventually Brandon started opening up that day, and I sat there and listened to him for an hour and a half, and and that was really, I mean, I helped I pushed him to get some help outside of me, but that conversation we had that day really opened his eyes that he had been struggling and struggling for a while. Um, and so I again I as I'm out talking to people, if you n if you if you're getting stressed, if you're getting short with your family, if you're getting short with your employees, if you're you know, if you're having bad thoughts, like just take a break. Walk away from it for a little while. Again, you know, that's it's it's our livelihoods, it's it's our lifestyle, so you can't completely get away with it. But you know, I know I remember one spring I was having a really tough day, and I had two or three things on a plan that broke down, and I just I just got reached my bullying point, and I knew that I needed to take a break. And so I called the wife up and I said, Hey, I said, I why don't we take off this afternoon and go to a ball game? And so we load the kids up and we drove down to Cincinnati and we took in a a Reds game, and you know, the next morning I come back and I was I was ready to go again. And and you know, the the my vision was clear again because it was awful cloudy the after the afternoon before. So and I encourage everybody, if you feel if something doesn't feel right, just take that break. And to ask for help because professionals are out there. Yes.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And in and in in the agricultural community, is it hard for men to feel like or even the women who are in involved in the business, is it hard for them to feel like they can open up and talk to somebody?
SPEAKER_00:So farmers have always been the ones that they're the they're the veterinarian, they're the banker, they're the mechanic, they're they're the fixer of anything and everything. Uh if there's bail and want bail and twine and and duct tape, we can fix it. Um and and that thought process a lot of times has been pushed into the the mental health and and the emotional health side of us. Um and so yeah, there is a huge, huge stigma in mental health in the farming community around mental health. Um good friend of mine was struggling there a while back, and I was, you know, again, pushing him towards going and and seeking that help. And he told me, he's like, Well, I can't do that. And I said, Well, like, I will drive to your house, I will go with you, I will hold your hand, like there's nothing to be scared of, nothing to be ashamed of. I mean, if if you you have if you're having chest pains, you're gonna go you're gonna go see the doctor. Yep. He's like, he looked at me and he says, I can't do that though. I said, What do you mean? He said I had an older generation person tell me that now I was the leader of the family and that I couldn't break down. I had to be strong for the rest of them. And that's true with a lot of men, uh and not just in agriculture, but especially in agriculture where we are we're the ones that's supposed to be able to fix everything.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. And you're also I I think about what you mentioned when you talked about your kids in the beginning, though, when people like you, your fellow farmers, your fellow producers, when they do get that help or take that break, that is modeling other behavi that's modeling behavior for others, for other ag producers, for kids. And that's how stigmas get broken. That's how stereotypes get broken.
SPEAKER_00:That's what I've been working on for a long time now. I've, you know, I've seen I've had, you know, I've struggled myself and I've tried to learn those coping mechanisms how to how to self-care. And and, you know, I've had points in my life where I've needed to go talk to professionals. And and I I've, you know, you get through that scariness of it, and you're like, oh, well, this isn't no different than going to my family doctor, really. Absolutely. And uh, you know, and and especially now as we're raising kids, we've my wife and I have both seen how important mental health is. And you know, and both uh in all three of our kids, we have made sure that um we were we're teaching them good coping mechanisms and and everything. So yeah, it's just that that stigma and it's so hard to get through. But there's there's so many opportunities out there for s for self-care and and professional help if you need it. Yeah. But we just gotta break through that stigma.
SPEAKER_01:I've yet to meet anybody who can fill their own cavity. You know what I mean? I mean I y I mean, really, I I say that in jest, of course, but again, that's why we have professionals. That's why we have psychologists and psychiatrists and licensed social workers and because we need them. And and it and Stephanie and I talk about this all the time. It's a sign of strength, not weakness.
SPEAKER_02:Exactly. And having people like you, as Scott said, being that role model for your fellow farmer, for your kids, for your wife or your family. You've you've been talking about this for a couple of years now, um, about speaking the truth about mental health. And in fact, that was your guest editorial that you wrote a couple of years ago. How did that come about? How did that opportunity present itself? And and what has been the reaction to that message and your continued message that you are trying to reach in the in your ag community?
SPEAKER_00:I had a really close family friend um who decided that he was going to end his life with by suicide, and that really broke me very hard. Um he was somebody that I he was an older gentleman. Um had had two boys that he farmed with. Um somebody that I had bought equipment off of and sold equipment, and I had talked to him I don't know how many times and tried to help him through his struggles. And so then when he took his life, I knew that I had to do more. I had to speak up, and so I started writing and and I had an opportunity to write that article. And I just want guys to know that you're not alone. I mean, yeah, we're all we're all competing against each other for land or whatever, but at the end of the day we're still fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands, neighbors people count on you. And when you decide that it's not life's no longer worth living for you, the heartache and the the terribleness that comes to the rest of the family is is really hard. Um and I look at that family today and the you know, he is not better off. That family is not better off today than um they had it pretty good when he was here, but he couldn't see that. And we got to get more guys to realize that there's help out there to get you through those dark times. And you're worth more than your farm. Um we we get wrapped up so much in because we live it every day. It's our identity. Uh we we feel that if we're not if we don't have our farm anymore, then we're nothing. Well, you're way more than your farm. Way, way more than your farm. And I think we we worry about the future way too much instead of living in today. Um because a lot of I've noticed especially with the older generation, a lot of their worries is what's gonna happen when I'm gone, what's gonna happen with the kids. You have no control over that. So just enjoy your life. Enjoy your life with your kids, with your family, with your friends, with your community, because that's what's most important.
SPEAKER_01:You talked about those stressors and the the various jobs that that farmers and ag producers have to take on. You yes, you're producers, you're veterinarians, you're plumbers, you're electricians, you're accountants, you follow regulations at the local, state, and federal level. But out of all that is is weather still the number one stressor?
SPEAKER_00:It's a very big one. Okay. It's a very big one. Um but I wouldn't I wouldn't necessarily always uh I think it's case by case. Okay. Um you know, some of it's family relationships. How do I transition between one generation to the next generation? Uh some people it's public perception because farmers are less than two percent of the population today, and and not very many people do it, but there are people that vilify what we do on a daily basis and say that we're bad people and we're poisoning earth, and you know there's there's a lot of different stressors. And to say that weather, I mean weather is by far the most biggest uncontrollable, but um I would say right now with what we've got going on in politics is is uh you know another stressor. You don't, you know, one day the market's up, you know, fifty cents, and then there's a tweet put out, and then markets are back down fifty cents. And so it's it's the uncertainty of what the future is and knowing how to position yourself and plan for the future to be successful is is about as big a stressor too. So just multiple things.
SPEAKER_02:So how can the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation, how can other organizations such as the OSU Extension Office, how can we be champions for the farm community, for farmers like you?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I think it's extension and the Ohio Suicide Prevention Um and a lot of Farm Bureau, a lot of the commodity groups are all starting to take up the conversation. I think that's the first step is just acknowledging that the guys are struggling and and that we need we need to talk about it. Um and so you know, getting out and and it's hard, and that's what I've struggled with the last few years, is how do you how do you get people in a room to talk about it? Because you say I'm gonna have a an event that is focused on mental health, you're not gonna get any farmers to show up. And so, you know, I encourage um all of our groups that are involved in agriculture in some way or another to partner. Um and when we have those events, have somebody like Extension, like you guys come in and and just a 10 or 15 minute little blurb during the press the presentation, I think has been um has been a really impactful thing. Uh that's what that's what kind of I've been doing the last few years. I've been invited to several conferences and and they'll just put a half an hour little spot in the middle of the conference, and you know, they've already got the farmers there. It's not like they're going to turn around and leave. And so they're kind of kind of a captive off audience. But uh, you know, I've had some really great conversations after those of people that's just hey, I've been struck one. Thank you for acknowledging it and and being here and and letting me know that I'm not the only one. And so just just having those conversations, partnering up together and and and trying to get those messages in front of as many farmers as we can.
SPEAKER_01:Speaking of great conversations, we know that you like talking to young people uh about farming and especially in your role uh at the Farm Bureau Foundation. Tell us more, tell our audience more about the Growing Tomorrow Grant, Nathan.
SPEAKER_00:So the Growing Tomorrow Grant is uh is a grant that we've started here in the last year. It was actually started by Mike and Patty Boyart from up in Medina County, and um they had kind of the first generation journey kind of similar to what mine is, but a little bit different. But uh they they really want they really have a passion for the next generation and helping people get started into into farming and agriculture. And so they they started this um this grant process last year that will award um up to two recipients a year a very nice grant in order for them to help start their business and and to move their move their agriculture enterprise um forward. And so that's uh it's a really awesome thing, really cool thing that that Mike and Patty have done.
SPEAKER_02:And that then goes into how we can continue to have the farming community grow and and hopefully be able to prosper as well. And so looking forward to that next generation of the of Ohio farmer. What are you excited about moving forward in your industry?
SPEAKER_00:Right now I'm excited to for the opportunities that's gonna come for my kids. You know, my time actually on the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation and Federation are both coming to an end here in the next uh next few weeks. I decided that life at home is is very busy, um, and that I I want to take the next few years while my kids are still in high school and and really focus on them and focus on my farming operation and trying to trying to get my farming operation to a point where that if my kids do want to come back and work on the farm full time, that there's an opportunity and there's a place for them. Um and I'm okay if they don't want to come back and farm, um, but I don't want to be in six years scratching my head thinking they're getting ready to get out of college. What am I gonna do? And so as much negativity as is happening right now in in the world and agriculture and everything, I still am excited for the opportunities to farm with my family. I have several passions and talking about farmer mental health and and suicide prevention is one of them, um, along with uh several other things. I don't know that I'm going to uh clear walk away from things, but I I just for the next few years I want to focus on a little bit on myself. You know, the last couple years I've ups and downs and struggles, and I look at myself and I've gained some weight and I've done some not I mean I just I need to make myself healthier for one. I need to take something off my plate, and I thought right now I've had uh I've had great opportunity with the Ohio Farm Bureau, but it's time for that next person to step up and and to to do what I was doing there and and to just see what happens. Um I started I helped start the the Suicide Coalition uh in Highland County and and then the last couple years of my farming stuff's gotten busier and board meetings have gotten in the way of making meetings and stuff. And uh so hoping to get a little bit more involved back at the local level, um, because uh really at the end of the day that's where I can make the biggest impact.
SPEAKER_02:And those coalitions make such a big difference in their community, so we appreciate all the work that they're doing in Highland County.
SPEAKER_01:Last thing. What's the best thing about being a farmer, Nathan?
SPEAKER_00:The the very first time I was sitting in a combine shelling corn, I can just picture the field right now, and I had both boys sitting in a tractor that was they were they had tractor and grain cart and was was carton grained to the semis for me. That was the best thing. But just just being my own boss and and the soil, I love the soil, I love the growing things, including my family. That's what it's all about. About seeing the sunrises and sunsets and and getting to enjoy it with my family.
SPEAKER_02:Nathan Brown, thank you so much for your commitment to your industry and to mental health as well. And we thank you for putting food on the table here in Ohio and beyond. Thank you so much. And to our listeners as well, thank you. When you listen to our episodes, you break stigmas, you break barriers, and you care about mental health and saving lives. This is Voices for Suicide Prevention, brought to you by the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation.