Added trauma stems from the notion of farming being part of ones soul, says Karen Mohatt, a clinical psychologist and chairwoman of this summers National Association of Rural Mental Health conference. When they then find out the farm isnt there, there is a significant question of identity for children and adolescents because the structure of who they were isnt there. The non-farming public seems to be more complacent about the farm crisis this time around, she says. Stress is rampant in the farm community. Rosmann says if commodity prices do not improve soon, there will be significant depression among farm families and people in all sectors of agriculture.
Some farmers dont want to get heavily involved with commodity trading.
There is some suspicion about using LDPs and forward pricing. People dont understand futures and options. More seminars, public forums, are needed where these concepts can be illustrated. Family farmers are keenly aware of the horizontal and vertical penetration into their markets by a few corporations that can control all aspects of farming, says Rosmann, and this economic stress contributes to personal stress. Farm income in Iowa has dropped abruptly the past year, anywhere from 20 to 150 percent, says Robert Jolly, Iowa State University economics professor.