We all should be ashamed. All we fight over is the stock price. Try being one of these farmers try to make ends meet. My prayers are with them all.
Calls To Farm Crisis Hotline Rises
B: Calls To Farm Crisis Hotline Rises
OMAHA, Neb., Dec 08, 1999 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- Callers seeking
either mental health or farm financial counseling have increased to the
Farm Crisis Hotline since the harvest ended, just as coordinator
Michelle Soll feared it would.
'It has picked up like we had expected,' Soll said Tuesday.
Near-record low crop prices did not improve through the harvest, and
pressure from financial institutions to pay debts will only increase as
loans come due at the end of the month.
The Walthill-based hotline heard from 112 first-time callers in July
and August, but that number rose to 121 new calls in September and
October. While that may be appear to be only a slight increase, Soll
said it is significant because the increase came during harvest, when
farmers are busy in the fields. November figures are not yet available.
More dramatic, however, is the number of vouchers issued for mental
health counseling.
In cooperation with the Nebraska Health and Human Services System, the
hotline issued vouchers so callers could attend free counseling
sessions at about 220 mental health agencies across the state.
The initial 200 vouchers were exhausted within two months. Since then
the state has funded 50 vouchers per month and a $50,000 federal grant
on Oct. 1 extended the life of the program.
In November, 175 vouchers were mailed, leaving the hotline only 105
vouchers to issue in December, when farm loans traditionally come due
days before Christmas.
'We are issuing more vouchers than we thought we would,' Soll said.
'The stress is still there.'
Soll said the best indication of the farm crisis can be found in this
fall's most utilized service the hotline offers -- the Farm Finance
Clinics.
The clinics offer free farm restructuring and legal issue counseling
with an attorney and farm counselor.
As many as 10 farmers attend each session for the one-on-one
counseling, 'and that's a full day,' Soll said.
Clinics are held twice-monthly in Norfolk and once a month in Grand
Island, Lexington, Ainsworth, North Platte and Beatrice.
Last October's $8.7 billion congressional farm relief package helped
soften the crisis being felt on the farm, Soll said, but it only
provided a 'Band-Aid to a few situations, and made it a little easier
to manage. They know the crisis is still there.'
Roy Frederick, an agricultural economist with the University of
Nebraska, said hundreds if not thousands of Nebraska agricultural
producers are hurting, but there also are many farmers and ranchers who
are doing fine.
'There ought to be some human compassion for those that are suffering,
' Fredericks said, 'but it's not every single farmer.'
If farmers had decent yields and received federal assistance, Frederick
said, 'you should be OK, probably not great, but OK.'
'There is always variability from one farmer to the next, but for
those that aren't doing well, it's often because of a combination of
circumstances,' he said. Those include the combination of low prices
for corn, soybeans and hogs.
Those circumstances weigh heavily on the shoulders of farmers involved
in what Soll called borderline cases.
'They are somewhat bitter, but on the other hand, they are just ready
to move on. They just don't want to deal with this anymore,' Soll
said. |
