New website aims to help P.E.I. farmers open up about stress

P.E.I. farmers and their families now have a new resource to help with both mental and emotional stress.

A new website was launched by the province Friday during the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture's annual meeting in Charlottetown.

The site aims to encourage farmers, producers and family members to open up about challenges, reach out for help and support one another.

Bloyce Thompson, minister of agriculture, said he has seen friends in the farming community struggle with their mental health.

You can put all the time and money into a crop and there is no guarantee what the outcome is going to be. Minister of Agriculture Bloyce Thompson

"It's something that was important to me. I've had some friends that suffered with mental health and some farmers that actually took their lives that I knew," he said.

Thompson, who is a farmer himself, said FarmersTalk.caencourages farmersto open up about the challenges they face and gives them links to support services.

'Farmers are tough'

"Farmers are tough and it is a tough business and we seem to have that stigma that we're strong and we don't need the help, but we're humans," Thompson said.

The site was developed by provincial agriculture and mental-health officials along with Island farm organizations.

We want people to tell their story. Minister of Agriculture Bloyce Thompson

Thompson said he wants farmers and their families to "know you are not alone."

"There is a place to reach out. I hope that they take advantage of this," he said.

This project builds on support already being offered through the Farmer Assistance Program, which provides six free counselling sessions, Thompson said.

Personal Stress

Thompsonsaid something he often came up against as a farmer was Mother Nature.

"She can be ruthless,"Thompson said."You can put all the time and money into a crop and there is no guarantee what the outcome is going to be."

He said things that could stress farmers out are the potential of illness in livestock, weather or lost crops.

Thompson said he hopes the website facilitatesdiscussion about those stresses.

"We want people to tell their story and if that helps other people that is what we want to get back from this."

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