Survey reveals mental health challenges for LGBTQ+ farmers in the U.S.

LGBTQ+ people working in US farmworkers are more than three times more likely to experience depression or suicidal thoughts and nearly 2.5 times more likely to experience anxiety disorders than the general population, according to a new study led by farm mental health experts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

“I have been conducting research on stress and mental health among farmers in general for several years. I have found that people who work in agriculture experience poorer mental health compared to those in other sectors. Similarly, research has shown that queer people have worse mental health than their straight and cisgender peers. There is little research looking at the crossover of LGBTQ+ people in agriculture, which is why I decided to conduct this study,” said Courtney Cuthbertson, assistant professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, part of the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES), and Illinois Extension specialist.

The study estimated that at least 23,000 LGBTQ+ people are involved in agriculture in the U.S., but Cuthbertson said the actual number is likely much higher. The team surveyed LGBTQ+ farmers across the U.S., asking standard questions about sexual and gender identity, stress, anxiety, depression, resilient coping, suicide risk, and types of produce. They received and analyzed 148 responses from 36 states, with organic farmers and respondents from California, Illinois, New York, and Texas overrepresented.

Approximately 72% of respondents experienced mild to severe symptoms of depression, 70% experienced mild to severe anxiety, and 52% were at significant risk for suicide.

“The rates of suspected depression and anxiety were similar to or higher than the general agricultural workforce, suggesting a double burden for LGBTQ+ agricultural workers. However, the rates of significant risk of suicide were much lower than in the non-agricultural LGBTQ+ sample. This led us to wonder if working in agriculture may have a protective effect against suicide risk for LGBTQ+ people.”

Courtney Cuthbertson, assistant professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at ACES and Illinois Extension specialist

When the subgroups were analysed separately, they found that people who identified as men were more likely to experience anxiety, depression and suicide risk than non-men, a trend that held true across the farming community as a whole, and Cuthbertson said this may be due to norms of masculinity in agriculture.

Additionally, gay respondents and those working in field crop and beef production were more likely to report suspected depression, but beef producers were the least likely to have been diagnosed with depression by a medical professional. In general, the number of respondents with symptoms of depression or anxiety was higher than the number who had received a medical diagnosis of these disorders. This, again, is consistent with findings about farmers in general, Cuthbertson said.

“Farming is intensive work, and some may feel that the time costs of seeking medical care come with financial costs in terms of not being productive during that time,” they say, “and there is a stigma around mental health in many farming communities, so some may be reluctant to have their car parked in front of a therapist’s office.”

“But for LGBTQ+ people in particular, they may worry about whether their identity will be acknowledged, whether they will be greeted with the correct pronouns and spoken to with respect. They may not have a boss or manager that will allow them to take time off to seek therapy, and they may not have health insurance that includes mental health coverage.”

The research team developed several fact sheets based on the study, as well as resources for advocates in the agriculture community who want to support LGBTQ+ farmworkers. Their advice includes being more inclusive of representations of gender and relationship status that are not cis-heteronormative, participating in advocate and cultural competency training, and providing equitable resources and support for all.

“Rather than assuming that LGBTQ+ people are the problem, it’s important to look at what’s going on around them. When we see things like depression, anxiety, and suicide, it’s a sign that something tragic is going on,” Cuthbertson says. “Rather than identifying marginalized groups as the problem, let’s identify the root causes and see what can be done.”

Cuthbertson stresses that the contributions of LGBTQ+ people in the agricultural community should not be discounted or ignored. “There’s been a lot of talk about making agriculture a more sustainable industry to ensure future food security,” he said. “I’ve argued that agriculture is only sustainable if it’s sustainable for the people who work in it – that means looking after their mental and physical health and making it as inclusive as possible for everyone who wants to work in agriculture.”

The researchers suggest the following resources for LGBTQ+ farmers and those struggling with mental health:

• Queer Farmer Network: queerfarmernetwork.org
• Cultivating Change Foundation: thecultivatingchangefoundation.org
• Concerns Hotline, 1-800-447-1985: extension.iastate.edu/iowaconcern
• Trans Lifeline, 877-565-8860: translifeline.org
• National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, 988: 988lifeline.org
• Crisis Text Line, 741741: crisistextline.org

The study, “Mental Health Among LGBTQ+ Farmers in the United States,” is published in the Journal of Agricultural Medicine. [DOI: 10.1080/1059924X.2024.2368185]Authors include Courtney Cuthbertson, Dane Rivas-Koehl, Anisa Codamon, Alyssa Billington and Matthew Rivas-Koehl. This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Cuthbertson is also affiliated with the University of Illinois’ Center for Social and Behavioral Sciences.