at nearly twice the rate of the gen-
eral population. And this could be an
underestimate, as the data did not
include several major agricultural
states. It’s also hard to capture an ac-
curate number because some farmers
disguise their suicides as accidents.
Mike looks like a midwestern Santa
Claus—glasses perched on a kind,
round face, a head of white hair, and
a bushy white moustache. In 1979,
he and his wife, Marilyn Rosmann,
left their teaching positions at the
University of Virginia and bought
190 acres in Harlan, Iowa, near the
farm where Mike spent his boyhood.
Mike told colleagues, “I need to go
take care of farmers, because nobody
else does.”“My name is Virginia Peters,” she
said. “My husband died of suicide on
May 12.”
There was a pause on the line.
“I have been so worried,” said Mike.
“Mrs. Peters, I am so glad you called
me.” Matt had made an appointment to
talk to Mike again, but when the time
came, he hadn’t called.
Mike Rosmann, an Iowa farmer, is
a psychologist and one of the nation’s
leading experts on the behavioral
health of farmers. His mission is to help
those in crisis. And for 40 years, he has
worked to understand why so many
farmers take their own lives.
A 2018 analysis by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention sug-
gests that male farmers die by suicide
Ginnie Peters stands by the tree she planted after her husband, Matt Peters, took his life.
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