PA Ag Professional Mental Wellness Survey

As a professional interacting with Pennsylvania’s livestock operations, you have firsthand experience with the mental challenges that a farmer can face in any given day or any given season. Please consider completing this short survey to help us begin a conversation around mental health and what it means for Pennsylvania livestock producers. Our goal is to normalize the discussion so more individuals will feel empowered to ask for help before it is too late.

This survey is about mental health in the agribusiness industry. Filling out this confidential and anonymous survey with candid answers will help this organization to provide the best resources and information that is needed revolving around mental health and stress within Pennsylvania agriculture. Please answer the questions and submit your response by January 31, 2022.

Question Title

* 1. How important is mental health to you, your family, and employees?

Very important

Moderately important

Somewhat Important

Not Important

Don't Know

Question Title

* 2. How serious of an issue do you believe mental health is within the farm
community?

Very Serious

Moderately Serious

Somewhat Serious

Not Serious

Don't Know

Question Title

* 3. Have you experienced or observed these behaviors in any of the following people in the past year? (Check all that apply)

	Self	Employees or co-workers	Farm owners	Farm Employees
Feeling tired/less energy	Feeling tired/less energy Self	Feeling tired/less energy Employees or co-workers	Feeling tired/less energy Farm owners	Feeling tired/less energy Farm Employees
Feeling nervous/anxious/ on edge	Feeling nervous/anxious/ on edge Self	Feeling nervous/anxious/ on edge Employees or co-workers	Feeling nervous/anxious/ on edge Farm owners	Feeling nervous/anxious/ on edge Farm Employees
Difficulty sleeping	Difficulty sleeping Self	Difficulty sleeping Employees or co-workers	Difficulty sleeping Farm owners	Difficulty sleeping Farm Employees
Little to no interest or pleasure in doing things	Little to no interest or pleasure in doing things Self	Little to no interest or pleasure in doing things Employees or co-workers	Little to no interest or pleasure in doing things Farm owners	Little to no interest or pleasure in doing things Farm Employees
Not being able to stop or control worrying	Not being able to stop or control worrying Self	Not being able to stop or control worrying Employees or co-workers	Not being able to stop or control worrying Farm owners	Not being able to stop or control worrying Farm Employees
Feelings or Sudden Outbursts of Anger and/or Frustration	Feelings or Sudden Outbursts of Anger and/or Frustration Self	Feelings or Sudden Outbursts of Anger and/or Frustration Employees or co-workers	Feelings or Sudden Outbursts of Anger and/or Frustration Farm owners	Feelings or Sudden Outbursts of Anger and/or Frustration Farm Employees
Feelings of Extreme Hopelessness	Feelings of Extreme Hopelessness Self	Feelings of Extreme Hopelessness Employees or co-workers	Feelings of Extreme Hopelessness Farm owners	Feelings of Extreme Hopelessness Farm Employees
Addiction and Substance Abuse	Addiction and Substance Abuse Self	Addiction and Substance Abuse Employees or co-workers	Addiction and Substance Abuse Farm owners	Addiction and Substance Abuse Farm Employees
Low energy	Low energy Self	Low energy Employees or co-workers	Low energy Farm owners	Low energy Farm Employees
Difficulty Concentrating	Difficulty Concentrating Self	Difficulty Concentrating Employees or co-workers	Difficulty Concentrating Farm owners	Difficulty Concentrating Farm Employees
Significant weight change/change in appetite	Significant weight change/change in appetite Self	Significant weight change/change in appetite Employees or co-workers	Significant weight change/change in appetite Farm owners	Significant weight change/change in appetite Farm Employees
Frequent thought of death or suicide	Frequent thought of death or suicide Self	Frequent thought of death or suicide Employees or co-workers	Frequent thought of death or suicide Farm owners	Frequent thought of death or suicide Farm Employees
Neglect to livestock, crops or farm as usual	Neglect to livestock, crops or farm as usual Self	Neglect to livestock, crops or farm as usual Employees or co-workers	Neglect to livestock, crops or farm as usual Farm owners	Neglect to livestock, crops or farm as usual Farm Employees
Violence or abuse	Violence or abuse Self	Violence or abuse Employees or co-workers	Violence or abuse Farm owners	Violence or abuse Farm Employees

Question Title

* 4. How often do you have conversations with farmers about stress related to any of the following topics impacting mental health?

	Multiple times a day	Daily	Weekly	Monthly	Never
Financial Issues	Financial Issues Multiple times a day	Financial Issues Daily	Financial Issues Weekly	Financial Issues Monthly	Financial Issues Never
Fear of losing the farm	Fear of losing the farm Multiple times a day	Fear of losing the farm Daily	Fear of losing the farm Weekly	Fear of losing the farm Monthly	Fear of losing the farm Never
Uncertain future	Uncertain future Multiple times a day	Uncertain future Daily	Uncertain future Weekly	Uncertain future Monthly	Uncertain future Never
Farm/business issues	Farm/business issues Multiple times a day	Farm/business issues Daily	Farm/business issues Weekly	Farm/business issues Monthly	Farm/business issues Never
Weather or other factors beyond control	Weather or other factors beyond control Multiple times a day	Weather or other factors beyond control Daily	Weather or other factors beyond control Weekly	Weather or other factors beyond control Monthly	Weather or other factors beyond control Never
Hours of labor	Hours of labor Multiple times a day	Hours of labor Daily	Hours of labor Weekly	Hours of labor Monthly	Hours of labor Never
Lack of workers	Lack of workers Multiple times a day	Lack of workers Daily	Lack of workers Weekly	Lack of workers Monthly	Lack of workers Never
Health issues	Health issues Multiple times a day	Health issues Daily	Health issues Weekly	Health issues Monthly	Health issues Never
Social Isolation	Social Isolation Multiple times a day	Social Isolation Daily	Social Isolation Weekly	Social Isolation Monthly	Social Isolation Never
Stigma about mental health issues	Stigma about mental health issues Multiple times a day	Stigma about mental health issues Daily	Stigma about mental health issues Weekly	Stigma about mental health issues Monthly	Stigma about mental health issues Never
Spouse or Partner Relationship issues	Spouse or Partner Relationship issues Multiple times a day	Spouse or Partner Relationship issues Daily	Spouse or Partner Relationship issues Weekly	Spouse or Partner Relationship issues Monthly	Spouse or Partner Relationship issues Never
Farm Family Dynamics	Farm Family Dynamics Multiple times a day	Farm Family Dynamics Daily	Farm Family Dynamics Weekly	Farm Family Dynamics Monthly	Farm Family Dynamics Never
The Covid Pandemic	The Covid Pandemic Multiple times a day	The Covid Pandemic Daily	The Covid Pandemic Weekly	The Covid Pandemic Monthly	The Covid Pandemic Never

Question Title

* 5. From the list below, please identify the top three issues that you believe have the greatest impact on the mental health of the farm families and farm employees you are working with.

Farm Financial Stress and Uncertainty

Long Hours and Stressful Working Conditions

Weather and Other Forces Out of Their Control

Labor Shortages and Other Employee Issues

Fear of Losing farm

Physical Health and Medical Issues

Farm Transition Issues

Farm Family Dynamics & Relationships

Spouse or Partner Relationships

Non-farm Related Stressors (Political, Social, Etc.)

Question Title

* 6. How confident are you in being able to recognize the warning signs of a mental health condition in a co-worker or farmer you are working with?

Very confident

Moderately confident

Somewhat confident

Not at all confident

Don't know

Question Title

* 7. How confident are you able to respond to someone having a mental health issue, including suicidal thoughts/ideation?

Very confident

Moderately confident

Somewhat confident

Not at all confident

Don't know

Question Title

* 8. Which of the criteria listed do you consider as obstacles for you or someone within your agriculture business to seek help or treatment for a mental health condition?

	Check all that apply for you or your co-workers	Check all that apply for your farm clients or customers
Cost	Cost Check all that apply for you or your co-workers	Cost Check all that apply for your farm clients or customers
Availability of Help/Treatment	Availability of Help/Treatment Check all that apply for you or your co-workers	Availability of Help/Treatment Check all that apply for your farm clients or customers
Accessibility of Help/Treatment	Accessibility of Help/Treatment Check all that apply for you or your co-workers	Accessibility of Help/Treatment Check all that apply for your farm clients or customers
Embarrassment	Embarrassment Check all that apply for you or your co-workers	Embarrassment Check all that apply for your farm clients or customers
Family	Family Check all that apply for you or your co-workers	Family Check all that apply for your farm clients or customers
No Obstacles	No Obstacles Check all that apply for you or your co-workers	No Obstacles Check all that apply for your farm clients or customers

Question Title

* 9. Have you, any of your co-workers, or farm clients sought care for a
mental health condition?

	Yes	No	Don't know
Self	Self Yes	Self No	Self Don't know
Employee or co-worker	Employee or co-worker Yes	Employee or co-worker No	Employee or co-worker Don't know
Farm client or customer	Farm client or customer Yes	Farm client or customer No	Farm client or customer Don't know

DEMOGRAPHICS

Question Title

* 10. Which agribusiness description below most closely relates to your profession?

Feed or nutrition

Genetics or breeding

Marketing cooperative

Food or livestock hauling and transport

Financial/Accounting

Sales

Cooperative Extension

Crop inputs

Equipment provider

Engineering

Nutrient management

Veterinary

Pharmaceutical

Food processing

Other

Question Title

* 11. Please describe your role with company (Check all that apply):

Owner

Top level management (report to owner)

Mid-level management (report to top level, supervise employees)

Front line employee working with farms

Question Title

* 12. Years in industry:

Less than 1 to 5

6 - 10

11 - 20

21 or more

Question Title

* 13. Who do you work most with:

Farm owners

Farm managers

Farm employees

Question Title

* 14. Gender: Identify as

Male

Female

Other

Prefer Not to Answer

Question Title

* 15. Age

Under 25

26 - 35

36 - 45

46 -55

56 or above

Question Title

* 16. Region of State

Southwest

Northwest

Central

Southeast

Northeast

Question Title

* 17. Average number of farms you work with throughout year:

10 or less

11 - 25

26 - 50

51 or more

Question Title

* 18. Type of farms you encounter most:

Dairy

Beef

Poultry

Swine

Small Ruminants

Grain/Cash Crop

Other

Question Title

* 19. Most common type of farm operation you work with:

Sole proprietorship

Husband and wife team

Family partnership or corporation with less than 3 partners

Family partnership or corporation with more than 3 partners

Other

Question Title

* 20. Are there any other issues you would like us to know in regards to mental health and well being in the farming community:

This survey is being conducted through an initiative of the Center for Beef Excellence, Center for Poultry, Pennsylvania Beef Producers Working Group, and Livestock Excellence, and Center for Dairy Excellence and is funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and the USDA Farmer Rancher Network Assistance Program.

For More Information, contact:

Center for Dairy Excellence

Phone: 717-346-0849

Email: info@centerfordairyexcellence.org

PA Ag Professional Mental Wellness Survey

Question Title

* 1. How important is mental health to you, your family, and employees?

Question Title

* 2. How serious of an issue do you believe mental health is within the farmcommunity?

Question Title

* 3. Have you experienced or observed these behaviors in any of the following people in the past year? (Check all that apply)

Question Title

* 4. How often do you have conversations with farmers about stress related to any of the following topics impacting mental health?

Question Title

* 5. From the list below, please identify the top three issues that you believe have the greatest impact on the mental health of the farm families and farm employees you are working with.

Question Title

* 6. How confident are you in being able to recognize the warning signs of a mental health condition in a co-worker or farmer you are working with?

Question Title

* 7. How confident are you able to respond to someone having a mental health issue, including suicidal thoughts/ideation?

Question Title

* 8. Which of the criteria listed do you consider as obstacles for you or someone within your agriculture business to seek help or treatment for a mental health condition?

Question Title

* 9. Have you, any of your co-workers, or farm clients sought care for amental health condition?

Question Title

* 10. Which agribusiness description below most closely relates to your profession?

Question Title

* 11. Please describe your role with company (Check all that apply):

Question Title

* 12. Years in industry:

Question Title

* 13. Who do you work most with:

Question Title

* 14. Gender: Identify as

Question Title

* 15. Age

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* 16. Region of State

Question Title

* 17. Average number of farms you work with throughout year:

Question Title

* 18. Type of farms you encounter most:

Question Title

* 19. Most common type of farm operation you work with:

Question Title

* 20. Are there any other issues you would like us to know in regards to mental health and well being in the farming community:

* 2. How serious of an issue do you believe mental health is within the farm
community?

* 9. Have you, any of your co-workers, or farm clients sought care for a
mental health condition?