Performing Department
Family and Consumer Sciences
Non Technical Summary
Agriculture in the United States is in a downturn, with significant losses over the past five years resulting in farm and ranch closures, forfeitures, and dramatically rising rates of farm and ranch stress. Farms and ranches in the southern region of the United States (as listed in the RFA: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands) are particularly vulnerable to the aforementioned issues contributing to increased farm and ranch stress, and are therefore the region of focus for this proposal. This project's primary audiences are farmers and ranchers, as well as those working proximal to them such as Cooperative Extension Agents, lenders, commodity organizations, agricultural retailers, as well as medical and mental health professionals. To this end, we propose working in a collaborative manner that ensures that all parties have a voice in decision-making, while also moving toward a collective goal. In this project, those approaches will be accomplished through an oversight team, action teams dedicated to specific objectives, a communications coordination team, and national partners standing ready to connect farmers to existing and created resources and programs. With an established network of over 50 partners, this proposal shares how we are ready and able to respond in meaningful and sustainable ways to the needs of farmers and ranchers in the southern region.
Animal Health Component
90%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
0%
Applied
90%
Developmental
10%
Goals / Objectives
Objective A: Expand TN's 34-year-old MANAGE hotline to connect farmers and ranchers to resources & programs addressing symptoms of stress and its root causes.Objective B: Create a website inclusive of a comprehensive, open-source, and searchable clearinghouse of resources and programs, e-learning platform, data input and reporting dashboard.Objective C: Curate & Create Farm and Ranch Stress ContentObjective D: Support groups for farmers and ranchers.Objective E: Trainings for farmers and ranchers, mental health professionals, medical professionals, ag industry, and lenders.Objective F: Conduct applied research dedicated to understanding root causes of farmer and rancher stress, use and functions of systems serving farmers and ranchers, and educating ag students & faculty
Project Methods
Objective A (hotline):Specific activities associated with this objective are: 1. Expand and host hotline access to text-enabled and 24/7 response, 2. Establish response protocol & comprehensive referral process for farmers and ranchers, 3. Train hotline responders, 4. Market hotline availability & access, 5. Evaluate & report reach & impact.Objective B (website):Specific activities associated with this objective are: 1. Contract & work with website development firm, 2. Upload content, links, directories, online trainings, create data input and dashboard, 3. Train partners and hotline responders on use of website, 4. Market website availability & access, and 5. Evaluate & report reach & impact.Objective C (content):Specific activities associated with this objective are: 1. Conduct state-specific SWOT analyses, 2. Curate available resources, 3. Create needed resources, 4. Market resource availability & access, and 5. Evaluate & report reach & impact.Objective D (support groups):Specific activities associated with this objective are: 1. Create best practices & methods guide for support groups (in-person, virtual, phone), 2. Recruit & train support group ambassadors, 3. Host local, virtual, & phone support groups, 4. Market support group availability & access, and 5. Evaluate & report reach & impact.Objective E (trainings):Specific activities associated with this objective are: 1. State-specific SWOT analyses, 2. Curate available trainings, 3. Create needed trainings & qualify for CEUs, 4. Market training availability & access, and 5. Evaluate & report reach & impact.Objective F (applied resesarch):Specific activities associated with this objective are: 1. Procure IRB approvals, 2. Recruit participants, 3. Collect & analyze data, 4. Share findings with network for translation to practice, and 5. Present & publish