Triple-duty lifestyle challenges women in agriculture

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Women involved in the agricultural industry are generally expected to live a triple-duty lifestyle that can lead to depression and anxiety.

“Farm women are the homemakers and they also engage in farm work,” said Cheyanne Dierickx, University of Illinois visiting Extension outreach associate.

“They often have off-farm careers, as well, to ensure a stable income when market prices are unstable and to also secure health insurance,” said Dierickx during a presentation at the 2025 Rural Mental Health Summit, hosted by the Southern Illinois University Center for Rural Health and Social Service Development.

“So, it’s no wonder there’s a higher prevalence of anxiety, depression and psychological stress among women in agriculture,” she said.

Men are no stranger to the stressors of agricultural life and the traditional gender roles impact them, as well.

“Men feel like they need to be the sole financial provider, and if they are not, that can really impact their ego or masculinity,” Dierickx said.o

“Men feel like they need to be tough, not show emotion and they don’t need help,” she said. “That can impact their ability to seek help and that puts them at a higher risk for substance abuse and suicide compared to farm women.”

There are many stressors unique to agriculture that are not necessarily applicable to nonfarming people.

“Agricultural producers experience anxiety and depression more often than the general population which makes sense as to why they are two to five times more likely to die by suicide,” Dierickx said.

A study of Illinois farmers conducted by the U of I found that three in four farmers reported alcohol use in the past three months and around 30% reported tobacco use in the past three months.

“That’s higher than the general population,” Dierickx said.

The opioid crisis is also a problem in rural communities.

“An American Farm Bureau Federation study found the opioid crisis has impacted 74% of the farmers and farm workers,” Dierickx said.

Not only are agricultural populations more at risk for poor mental health, she said, they also have more barriers to receiving treatment.

“Those barriers can be condensed to the 4As — accessibility, availability, affordability and acceptability,” she said.

In response to this, the Illinois Agricultural Mental Health Voucher Program is available to farmers and their families to provide free mental health care.

“This started in partnership with the Illinois Department of Agriculture and the goal is to improve mental health for farmers and their families by reducing barriers to professional mental health care,” Dierickx said.

For the program, licensed mental health providers were recruited across the state.

“Anyone who is a producer, farmworker or family member who lives in Illinois is eligible,” Dierickx explained. “Once a voucher is requested, we initially send them three vouchers and a provider directory and after that they can request more vouchers as long as funding is available.”

The individual redeems the voucher with any participating provider.

“Then we reimburse the provider directly and no proof of insurance is needed,” Dierickx said.

This voucher program has grown significantly over the past three years. In 2022, there were 87 requests, and the following year the requests increased to 126.

“In 2024, we had a 521% increase in requests for vouchers that totaled 783,” Dierickx said.

U of I Extension leads the North Central Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Center that includes a 12-state region. The goal of this collaboration is to create stress management and mental health resources for agricultural communities.

“We also work with Illinois AgrAbility that helps farmers with physical disabilities whether it’s due to aging or injuries so they can continue farming and maintain their independence,” Dierickx said.

“There are tools that we can provide them to continue farming safely and this goes hand in hand with mental health.”

For more information about the NCFRSAC, go to www.farmstress.org.