Remembering a Young Farmer: From Loss to Action with the Washington Young Farmers Coalition

Warning: This episode deals with topics surrounding suicide, and may not be appropriate for all audiences. Suicide rates among farmers and farm workers are higher than in any other occupation in the United States. We start this two-part series with the story of Justin McClane, a founding member of the Washington chapter of the National Young Farmers Coalition, who we lost to suicide in 2017. Our hope is that by telling Justin's story, and sharing the powerful organizing his community of young farmers in Washington State launched in response to his death, we can contribute to the effort to break down the stigma around mental and behavioral health, inspire policy change, and grow support for programs addressing the farmer mental health crisis in this country. If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Hotline at (800) 273-TALK (8255). You can also speak with someone directly at the Farm Aid Hotline at (800) FARM-AID (327-6243). For further resources, please visit https://farmcrisis.nfu.org/. https://www.facebook.com/wayoungfarmers/photos/a.243951272306662/1374009989300779/?type=3 http://www.washingtonyoungfarmers.org/political/hb-2671/ http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/sowing-the-seeds-of-mental-health/ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/06/why-are-americas-farmers-killing-themselves-in-record-numbers