Fourth generation farmer Tom Lang said he’s been farming for more than fifty years.

“My church is in the tractor,” Lang said. “I enjoy it, especially when the moon is out at night.”

Half a century filled with joy and hardwork on the fields, but also concern.

The Centers for Disease Control conducted a study in 2016 that reported farmers, fishing and forestry have the highest suicide rate among all professions.

And that rate is even higher in 20 counties in northwest Kansas,

“From 2014 to 2017, the suicide rate in this part of the state is up 64 percent,” High Plains Mental Health Center official Kaley Connor said.

Licensed psycho clinic therapist and Executive Director of High Plains Mental Health Center Walt Hill said in 2017, there were 23 deaths by suicide in northwest Kansas and 13 deaths by suicide nationally.

“This is an alarming number,” he said.

Here is the breakdown for the 20 northwest Kansas counties.

  • 2014: 14 deaths by suicide
  • 2015: 17 deaths by suicide
  • 2016: 21 deaths by suicide
  • 2017: 23 deaths by suicide

“It’s depressing sometimes,” farmer Lang said. “I sit and think boy why am I doing this. I should give up and do something else.

Lang said he’s never felt suicidal, but the combination between personal and financial pressures could be factors for the depressing feelings.

“It wouldn’t have been for my second job, I would probably had to give up,” he said. “It’s getting more expensive and you’re getting less and less.”

He also added that mother nature isn’t helping either.

“That’s one thing you can’t control,” he said.

However, mental health officials said awareness is one thing they can.

“We’ve come up with a brochure that we’re trying to distribute to rural communities that farmers are likely to visit,” Connor said. “So, co-ops, grocery stores, posts offices, etc.”

In the brochure, there are warning signs and mental health first-aid training class offered to anyone.

“We want people to understand that there’s help and hope,” Hill said. “The goal is to bring down this number.”

Connor said Kansans will start seeing these brochures within the next couple of weeks.

If you or anyone that you know is in crisis, you can call the High Plains Mental Health Center 24/7 crisis hotline at 800-432-0333 or The National Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.