Ag workers face higher suicide rate than other workers

The suicide rate for agriculture workers is higher than the suicide rate in all other occupations, a University of Iowa College of Public Health study found. Wendy Ringgenberg, whose family has a century farm near Belle Plaine, began the study in 2013 as part of her thesis for her master’s degree in occupational and environmental health.She said she set out to find the trends of intentional harm among agricultural workers.Existing studies show occupational injuries and fatalities in other industries, but not for agricultural workers, said Corinne Peek-Asa, professor of  occupational and environmental health at the UI College of Public Health.“I know there are farmers that do commit suicide, yet they’re not categorized as occupational-risk suicide because of where they were located or because it’s such a taboo subject,” Ringgenberg said. “On the flip side, we have farmers and ag workers who were victims of homicide based on their choice of occupation.”