Darkness Across the Fruited Plain
Unspoken Reality
Worse than Ever
By Stephen L. Wilmeth
This
month’s New Mexico Stockman appeared
in the mail box yesterday. The cover illustration was that of a booted and
spurred Westerner … feeding cats.
Of course,
the style and the heartbeat of the artist could be none other than that of
Redrock’s own, JaNeil Anderson. The credit confirmed that expectation. Later,
when I called Walt, she answered the phone and I told her how proud we were of
her and her growing reputation as one of the great western artists. She talked
about the model, an Animas cowboy, to whom she is related.
Walt was
still horseback looking for some wayward heifers. Their youngest grandson was with
him and we talked about that as well. The significance of that very thing
continues to be so important in our lives and plans.
The matter
of cats, though, wound its way back into the picture when the idea that herding
heifers was a combination of corralling teenaged girls and herding felines. It
can be frustrating. The endeavor is one of the many chapters of a book of
exceedingly diverse talents we must master.
The fact we
don’t master them all comes into sharp focus now and then. Perhaps one of them
is now, and it is past time to discuss it.
Darkness Across the Fruited Plain
A group of
students from Scott Vernon’s agricultural communication program at Cal Poly,
San Luis Obispo has concluded research on a matter that nobody should find
appealing, a demographic sketch of suicide.
It comes at
a time when we are learning the three fastest growing causes of death are not
related to what we have come to expect as traditional killers. Alzheimer’s,
drugs, and suicide are the growing debacles of darkness.
We know the
risk of two of these for our Vets. We hear often about their tragedy of
suicide. Yes, we need to spend money on this terrible thing. Maybe it is never
enough, but the immensity of the problem is widely known and discussed.
The Cal
Poly review reveals something, though, that few people understand much less
know. Within the subset of agriculture, the rate of suicide is twice that of
our Veterans.
Think about
that.
The
expansive issues of delayed stress syndrome, all the obstacles that military
families face in constant upheaval of separation and reassignments, the
exposure to horrendous risk protecting our nation, and the largely absent
commensurate economic rewards all contribute to the statistics. Suicide is real,
and it cannot be ignored. Veterans are absolutely at risk.
But, what about
farmers and ranchers? They are committing suicide at a rate double that of military
veterans. They are committing suicide at a rate five times that of the average across
all demographics! Has anybody heard about this?
It isn’t being discussed. It is shrouded
in darkness.
Worse than Ever
I called Scott to clarify points of
uncertainty. I should have told him I was talking on a cell phone from the
middle of a pasture where we had just gathered the last of a group of bulls and
it was already 102°, the wind was blowing, and it wasn’t yet noon (he would
have just told me it was 72° in San Luis on its way to 73° and no winds were
forecast for the rest of the year).
The collected data did reveal that
such things as net farm income, social isolation, and even matters of pride and
resistance to professional help were all factors in the horrific kill
statistics. No, there weren’t specific subset data that would separate his
local conditions from the rest of the nation’s agriculture, farmers from
ranchers, or eastern ranchers from western ranchers, but it is known the
problem is worse now than it was in the farm crisis of the ‘80s. It is worse in
the heartland than it is in California, and it likely worse overall than the
data suggests. Many reported “accidents” are suicides but not recorded as such because
of the uncertainty of the actual intent and the isolation of the happening.
The actual rates of reporting,
thus, are low.
Unspoken Reality
The fact is there is not a single
program aimed at prevention or reduction of agricultural related suicide. There
was an addendum in the 2008 Farm Bill, but it was never funded. Everybody knows
where the newest attempt to pass a farm bill is, so the situation remains in
limbo. Perhaps the most we can hope if that the Cal Poly work will generate
some discussion.
A place to start would be to
identify the most vulnerable.
It would surprise few if federal
lands ranchers were not included in a most vulnerable, at risk group. The decline of cattle numbers across the
federal West is but one indicator that something is dreadfully wrong.
Because of time constraints I was
able to talk to only a few friends and colleagues, but one thread was
consistent. Surely, we worry about drought, markets, variable ranch income, and
debt, but those things don’t necessarily awaken us in the middle of the night
to visit and leave us sweating. Our relationship with our absentee landlord is
the most consistent and disturbing nighttime visitor.
The fact is none of us want any
counseling.
No, what we need is a
partner that is committed to our success on the basis that our success is the
real measure of his success. No amount of partnership programs or welfare is
the answer, either. The condescension, abuse of power, crushing regulatory
oppression, uncertainty of each and every discussion, and the lethargy of vital
decision making invariably contribute to an eventual foul and poisonous
relationship between rancher and agency landlord.
This is the cry from the wilderness
that we hear, but the reality is … it is not heard beyond our boundary fences.
Stephen
L. Wilmeth is a rancher from southern New Mexico. “Five times the national
average and Senators Udall and Heinrich are oblivious.”
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