Illinois
COMMENTRY

Crisis on the farm — call for help

Farming and farm life is unique. It is often a family operation involving not only an immediate family (spouses and children) but also more than one generation. Family members work side by side, often tightly interweaving business operations and family life. Farm business decisions affect the entire family, or families. Planting and harvest seasons are two high-stress periods for farm families. This situation may cause tensions to mount.

In addition, farm families routinely face the same stressful events as non-farm families, such as inflation-recession, catastrophic illness and relationship losses due to death or divorce. Farm families also confront stressful conditions associated with agriculture, such as machinery breakdowns, death of a valuable animal, uncontrollable weather, variable crop yield and fluctuating prices.

Larry W. Wilson

The stresses on many farm families' financial and emotional condition have grown considerably, partially due to excess supply, weak markets and uncooperative weather. It will come as no surprise to most of you, that between 1997 and 1998, the average Illinois agricultural producer saw a $40,000 drop in net income as pork, dairy and other commodity prices tumbled. Projections of prices in the wake of this year's harvest were equally discouraging. Corn, soybean and wheat producers face an intimidating combination of large existing stocks of their commodities, more acres planted in those commodities this past growing season, and low prices for crops they stored last year as well as those harvested this year.

Before awareness of these challenges had spread to the general public, the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) had already begun responding by directing its expertise to help farm families contend with problems of finance, management and marketing raised by these circumstances. This has taken the shape of a multi-pronged effort involving producer meetings, one-on-one counseling, marketing seminars, a toll-free hotline and other local programs throughout the state. Additionally, the College's faculty and Extension specialists, educators, and local county staff have served as sources to explain the nature of the crisis to a wider public audience, enhancing public understanding of the challenges facing this important sector of our state's economy.

Earlier this year, University of Illinois established "Rural Route 2," a confidential, 24-hour, toll-free hotline that provides callers referrals to Extension staff with expertise in farm and business analysis, as well as family issues. Links are also made to local social service agencies, the Illinois Farm Development Authority and the Farm Resource Center. The Farm Resource Center helps individuals and families through crisis intervention. Collaborations across the state among agencies and organizations have heightened awareness and strengthened the response to the agricultural community.

Callers reaching the "Rural Route 2" hotline between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Mondays through Fridays can speak to a trained professional who listen to their situation and then directs them to appropriate sources of assistance. Those calling after business hours can leave a message that will be promptly returned.

The "Rural Route 2" hotline number is 800-468-1834. Furthermore, information related to stress in the Illinois agricultural industry is located at the "Rural Route 2" website: http:// www.extension.uiuc.edu/ruralroute.

On behalf of University of Illinois Extension, I invite you to make use of "Rural Route 2," or to pass this information on to someone who can. I've been asked if the goal of "Rural Route 2" was to "save the family farm?" My response was, "It may not always be possible to save the family farm, however, it is our goal to save the farm family."

Larry W. Wilson has been with the Cooperative Extension Service in Illinois since 1979. Dr. Wilson is currently serving on special assignment to the associate dean of the University of Illinois College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, as program coordinator for the "Rural Route 2" Program. He also helped design the national, and the Illinois Family Community Leadership (FCL) programs, which teach citizens and grassroots leaders how to work with and influence political leaders and public policy.

4 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING NOVEMBER 1999