EDITOR’S NOTE: If you or somebody you know is struggling with mental health, help is available. Call the Minnesota Farm and Rural Helpline at 833-600-2670 or visit
for resources and support 24/7.
When a farmer is under the weight of stressful, out-of-control situations, often the last thing they want to do is stop what they’re doing to get help from a stranger.
“No farmer ever calls a psychologist,” said Ted Matthews, one of two Minnesota rural mental health counselors. “But they’ll call Ted.”
They’ll call Ted or the other rural mental health counselor,
, because these two have been the faces of rural mental health help in Minnesota for decades. Matthews is fully aware that it takes a lot for a farmer to agree to see a therapist. But he tries to simplify it by explaining that it’s just giving one hour to talk to someone. The worst that can happen is they don’t like it and have lost their hour. The best scenario is that the talk saves their life.
Matthews has been providing counseling services for about 40 years, 30 of those in rural parts of Minnesota at no cost to those he serves. He retires from his work at the end of June at the age of 78, with a desire to keep doing this kind of work in some capacity.
Matthews grew up in Duluth, where his father worked in nearby Silver Bay. His family was full of blue-collar workers who excelled in their trades. He assumed he’d end up working as a plumber, electrician or in construction in some way or another. But he also knew he wouldn’t be good at any of it.
“I truly am bad at those things,” Matthews said.
It took joining the Air Force, trying out some jobs and getting conned into going to college to figure out that he might be able to make a living outside of working with his hands. It turned out he is gifted with the inner workings of the mind.
Mental health specialist Ted Matthews testifies about farmer mental health in front of a Minnesota House committee in 2018.
Don Davis / Forum News Service file photo
He worked in mental health counseling in a hospital setting and for FEMA, helping people through disasters. He said the trouble with working in settings where insurance is involved are the mountains of paperwork. It seemed there was less time to actually help people through all the red tape.
In the 1990s, Matthews was able to devote more time to those at high risk of stress, minus the burdensome paperwork, when Farm Business Management instructors, with support from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and funds from the Minnesota Legislature, helped launch a model of mental health care tailored to the unique realities of rural life. Matthews credits
, current farmland access and succession teams coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, for taking some of the first steps to make this unique program a possibility that remains effective today.
Matthews has been able to offer counseling without red tape or insurance requirements and at no cost to those who often also struggled with having money to get help.
Matthews has been around long enough to see a shift in the type of stress that farmers encounter. The rising cost of living has altered the family structure. Now, one or both husband and wife are working off the farm to help through the lean years of farming or just to get insurance. Both are making decisions for the farm and both have opinions on how things should be handled. Matthews does a lot of work counseling farm couples through relational stress and emphasizes the importance of communication.
“If you see talking to your spouse as a punishment … bad things,” Matthews said. “Communication is so important, and we are all different.”
Another big change to hit rural areas is a jump in land prices that has created a space for the big to get bigger, the small farms to struggle to find enough land to make it and the beginning farmer to have almost no chance of getting into a lifestyle they may truly thrive in. While all these groups are at significantly different economic positions, Ted has seen all suffer from ongoing stress over long-term expenses for land.
“For thousands of years, if you wanted to be a farmer and you were willing to do the work, you could be successful,” Matthews said. “Now, if you make a couple of mistakes, I don’t care if you’re willing to work 24/7, you’re out.”
Another shift he has witnessed is more automation and less physical labor, which means farmers can farm longer. Ted has experience working with families as they seek to deal with the stress of transitioning their farms to the next generation. In one example, Ted shared about a farmer still farming at age 90, and his son is now 70, and his grandson is in his late 30s. This can create more complex transitions for each generation.
With Matthews making rounds at events across the state and country, many farmers have seen or heard from him even without personally seeking him out. His presence has made him someone they know they can call in times of need.
“Ted’s impact on rural mental health in Minnesota can’t be overstated. He has brought hope and healing to many in crisis with humility and heart,” Minnesota Department of Agriculture commissioner Thom Petersen said.
Research shows that farmers experience common mental health conditions more often than the general population. According to the National Rural Health Association, the suicide rate among U.S. farmers is 3.5 times higher than the national average. Even though persistent stress is common for farmers and ranchers alike, it can still take a significant toll on health, relationships, and outlook.
Matthews recognizes that there is stress in getting funds to farm, stress in planting, stress in growing, stress in harvest, stress in wondering if there is even money to be made and often stress with those people involved in the daily routine.
“Simply by talking and talking through those things, getting things off your chest, being able to have someone that you trust to talk to,” those are essential, he said.
Even though his work involves talking people through some of the worst times of their lives, he considers it a joy to do the work because it offers a new challenge every day. He is able to separate himself from the stress by always remembering that it’s his job to be the therapist, not the friend or family member. It was sage advice from his college professor that has helped him maintain a separation and not take the stress on himself.
As Matthews soon heads into retirement he reminds those dealing with stress to be kind to themselves. Focus on how you can be happier at any stage rather than allowing stress to reach a breaking point. When you get a chance to share how you are feeling, don’t dumb it down. Find someone who will listen and speak honestly about your emotions. Matthews believes there is nothing as complex as human emotions. When we say we are “OK” or “fine” we are not helping ourselves or those listening. He also reminds people not to take advice from those who are always negative.
“We have a tendency … to listen to that negativity when it’s a negative person talking,” Matthews said. “Don’t do that. Trust people who are honest and straightforward.”
Matthews appreciates that he has been able to devote his life to work he loves. He recognizes that he has been able to have an impact, yet he is just a small part of the overall effort. It takes therapists, clergy, social workers, farm business management instructors, Extension and more to help those in need. And what those in need require is someone who can make them feel comfortable.
“It’s one of the reasons I say, ‘Just call me Ted,’” he said.
Have something to say to Ted?
As he prepares to retire at the end of June, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture invites those who have worked with Ted or been impacted by his support to share memories, express gratitude or send well wishes. Notes can be emailed to Meg Moynihan at Meg.Moynihan@state.mn.us or shared by phone at 651-201-6616. Messages can be anonymous.