During the Southern Peanut Growers Conference luncheon, Marshal Sewell of Mind Your Melon, delivered a powerful and deeply personal message on mental health in agriculture. Drawing from his experience as part of a fifth-generation fruit and vegetable farming family in Plant City, Florida, Sewell connected the pride of agricultural heritage with the pressures and uncertainties that come with carrying on a family operation.
Sewell shared the story of losing his father to suicide during his senior year of high school, following a devastating crop failure that left the family facing significant financial and emotional challenges. He emphasized that mental health is not synonymous with mental illness and that everyone faces mental health challenges at some point. For farming families, those challenges can be compounded by financial pressures, unpredictable weather, markets, regulations, family responsibilities and the weight of maintaining a family legacy.
Rather than focusing solely on crisis intervention, Sewell encouraged farmers to build resilience before reaching a breaking point. He highlighted three characteristics of resilience, or “hardiness”: commitment, challenge and control. Finding purpose, viewing challenges as opportunities to learn and grow, and focusing on the things within our control can help individuals better navigate difficult seasons.
Sewell also encouraged farmers to identify their “oh no people,” trusted individuals they can call when something goes wrong and they need help. Just as importantly, he challenged attendees to be that person for someone else by moving beyond surface-level conversations and being willing to talk about difficult subjects.
His final message was one of hope. Every day provides an opportunity for things to improve, he said, and hope involves more than wishful thinking. It comes from having goals, developing pathways to reach those goals and recognizing that we have agency in the actions we take.
Through Mind Your Melon, Sewell and his wife, Taylor, are working to bring mental health conversations out of the shadows and provide resources for those working in agriculture.