Statewide Iowa — The Iowa Concern Hotline has seen a nearly 25 percent increase in calls over the past 12 months.
Anyone in Iowa may call the hotline, but the round-the-clock service is primarily meant to answer questions about farm and agribusiness finances. Tammy Jacobs oversees the hotline for Iowa State University Extension.
The conversations are kept confidential. Trained people answer the calls and make referrals to services that might help. An attorney is available to provide free legal education. The conversations are kept confidential. Jacobs says it appears commodity prices are creating stress, especially among family farming operations.
Last year’s launch of the nationwide 988 suicide hotline hasn’t really impacted the number of calls to the Iowa Concern Hotline according to Jacobs.
The Iowa Concern Hotline was launched in 1985, during the Farm Crisis. It was originally called the Rural Concern Hotline, but the name was changed to Iowa Concern Hotline after the floods of 1993 to indicate it’s not just for farmers. In the past 12 months, the Iowa Concern Hotline fielded nearly 6,500 calls.
