Agrarian Frames, Farm Financial Crisis, and Farmer Stress: A Qualitative Comparison of Small‐Scale Farmers

Abstract

Studies document the complex mental and physical health risks faced by farmers as a consequence of farm financial crises. The agrarian frames that farmers use to construct interpretations of events have been linked to stressors, barriers to care, and actions to navigate stress. In this study, we investigate how they frame the stress process through comparative analysis of interviews with 30 small‐scale farmer informants from three Southern states. Both Black and White respondents share a core, small‐scale agrarian frame that emphasizes the civic autonomy and sense of deprivation related to the scale of their farm operations. Black farmer participants described a racialized Black Agrarian frame overlapping with the small‐scale agrarian frame that centers around Black liberation and institutional racism. Alternatively, White farmers largely omit race from their framing of farm stress. The results enhance our understanding of the intersection among scale, race, and agrarian frames by providing a nuanced view of the relative differences between small‐scale farmers in their shared understandings of financial crises and farm stress. We conclude by highlighting the need for culturally informed mental health interventions and policies tailored to address the stressors and social narratives that characterize racially differentiated farming communities that also acknowledge the shared frame of small‐scale agrarianism.