A Silent Truth Hidden in the Farm Economy: Farmer Suicides Are on the Rise :candle:

A Silent Truth Hidden in the Farm Economy: Farmer Suicides Are on the Rise

https://www.agweb.com/news/business/health/silent-truth-hidden-farm-economy-farmer-suicides-are-rise

Signs of stress in the farm economy are everywhere you turn, and with corn futures hitting fresh lows again this week, crumbling commodity prices are painting a dreary outlook for 2025, and the financial pressures are causing another bleak reality: farmer suicides are also on the rise.

In 2024, used equipment prices were plummeting at auction, with values of larger horsepower tractors dropping more than 20%. As used equipment flooded the auction market, Alex Kerr, owner of Kerr Auction and Kerr Equipment, noticed another troubling trend.

“This is really odd for me,” Kerr said in a video he posted to social media last year. “Three tractors up here that I bought on auction, and I’m not going to tell you which ones, but they came off of suicide — the reason is that the farmers are no longer here. It’s the reason I’ve got the tractors.”.................................

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