Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Agricultural producers throughout the United States (US) are in crisis. Rates of suicide among male producers, including farmers, ranchers, agricultural managers, and workers, are notably higher compared to the general working population. Studies of agricultural producers in the north central region (NCR) suggest the prevalence of depression ranges from 7.4% to 53%, substantially higher than the 6.1% observed among the general US population. An estimated 27% to 71% of agricultural producers in the NCR experience anxiety, which is notably higher than what's reported among the US population (20.7%). Among farmworkers, the prevalence of depression likely exceeds 45%. Furthermore, the rate of heavy alcohol use (i.e., 8+ drinks per week for a woman or 15+ drinks per week for a man) among full-time workers in agriculture is 9.4% compared to 8.7% among all-other full-time workers. Illinois farmers report engaging in recent alcohol use at a higher rate than the general population (74.9% vs. 54.2%).The NCR includes some of the most agriculturally productive states in the US. Importantly, almost 40% of all US agricultural producers operate in the NCR and the region employs over 300,000 farmworkers. Agricultural producers in the NCR experience a myriad of occupational stressors associated with adverse mental health conditions. To provide stress assistance and mental healthcare to NCR farmers, ranchers, their families, farmworkers, and other agricultural workers, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Extension in collaboration with Cooperative Extension Services (CES) from Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin and with the Central State Center for Agricultural Safety and Health, National AgrAbility, Progressive Agriculture Foundation, Jewish Farmer Network, Queer Farmer Convergence, and Marbleseed will continue "North Central Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Center: Engaging Programs to Support Producer Well-being" . The overall goal of NCFRSAC is to create and expand stress management and mental health resources and services to agricultural producers and workers. The key target audiences for this project include individuals engaged in production agriculture with specific emphasis on producers (across genders, specialty growers, farmworkers), farm families, and allies and supporters of agricultural producers (specifically agribusiness professionals and healthcare providers).Over the project period, the NCFRSAC will achieve four major objectives. First, the NCFRSAC will establish a diverse, regionally representative network of member organizations. Center directors will convene partners from all 12 north central region states. A strength of this proposal is the commitment and participation of 1862 CESs in almost all NCR states. NCR CESs will partner with CS-CASH, National AgrAbility, Progressive Agriculture Foundation, Jewish Farmer Network, Queer Farmer Convergence, and Marbleseed to establish a diverse and regionally representative network of member organizations. These 18 Network Partners will meet monthly as a region. The Center will maintain interest groups of members from across states to address topic or audience specific needs. Finally, some partners will conduct needs assessments to identify emerging stressors and needs of the population.The Center will develop a clearinghouse of farmer assistance programs in the region and maintain the website, www.farmstress.org. The NCFRSAC will educate individuals/teams in the NCR about FRSAN activities and how to access/use existing resources and programs in their work with agricultural producers and communities under stress. Finally, the NCFRSAC will provide a range of services referenced in the legislative authorities which include: training (programs and workshops) for (1) advocates for individuals engaged in agriculture-related occupations; (2) other individuals/entities that may assist individuals who are in agriculture-related occupations or are in crisis; support groups; and outreach services and activities, including dissemination of information and materials.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
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Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The proposed objectives build on existing North Central FRSAN efforts without duplicating available resources and activities. The largest programmatic gap in the region is in relation to behavioral health services as some states have had voucher programs enabling agricultural producers to see a therapist or counselor at low- or no-cost.Objective 1: Establish a diverse, regionally representative network of member organizations.Objective 2: Develop a clearinghouse of farmer assistance programs in the region.Objective 3: Educate individuals/teams in the NCR about FRSAN activities and how to access/use existing resources and programs in their work with agricultural producers and communities under stress.Objective 4: Provide a range of services referenced in the legislative authorities which include: (1) training (programs and workshops) for (a) advocates for individuals engaged in agriculture-related occupations; (b) other individuals/entities that may assist individuals who are in agriculture-related occupations or are in crisis; (2) support groups, (3) Outreach services and activities, including dissemination of information and materials.
Project Methods
The proposed objectives and methods of the north central regional farm and ranch stress assistance network include:Objective 1: Establish a diverse, regionally representative network of member organizations.Objective 1 will be achieved by convening key network collaborators. A strength of this proposal is the commitment and participation of 1862 CESs in almost all NCR states. NCR CESs will partner with CS-CASH, National AgrAbility, Progressive Agriculture Foundation, Jewish Farmer Network, Queer Farmer Convergence, and Marbleseed to establish a diverse and regionally representative network of member organizations. These 18 Network Partners will meet monthly as a region. The center will maintain interest groups to address topic or audience specific needs. Interest groups will meet at least twice during the project period. Finally, needs assessments by some partners will gauge evolving needs and concerns among producers and to identify opportunities to engage stakeholders.Objective 2: Develop a clearinghouse of farmer assistance programs in the region.For objective 2, the project team will collect information about existing farmer assistance programs in the region. All network partners will contribute information about existing farmer assistance programs in their states. Activity began in 2020 and will continue throughout the funding period. In addition, the Center will host collected information on a centralized clearinghouse website. Illinois Extension and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will host the clearinghouse website (CHW) under the header "NCR Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Center" (www.farmstress.org). The CHW will include region-wide resources, links to network partner websites, and links to other relevant websites and related resources. The CHW will include information about NCR farmer assistance programs and links to research-based information about behavioral health in agricultural context, descriptions of programs offered by network partners, stakeholder resources, and relevant webinars and videos.Objective 3: Educate individuals/teams in the NCR about FRSAN activities and how to access/use existing resources and programs in their work with agricultural producers and communities under stress.To accomplish the goals of objective 3, we will engage with national FRSAN partners to share activities and initiatives related to farm stress and mental health. The NC FRSAC PDs will participate in a national coordination council (NCC) and will meet monthly to discuss activities of the program, progress, outreach, and other relevant and time-sensitive opportunities that arise. The NC FRSAC will also engage with national FRSAN and non-FRSAN partners and stakeholders to share activities and initiatives related to farm stress and mental health. The NC FRSAC PDs will convene one quarterly national outreach meeting. This virtual meeting will be held via Zoom and the following entities will be invited: USDA, state Departments of Agriculture, regional FRSAN leaders and network partners, advocacy groups, Extension, and public agencies. Information about the meeting will be circulated online two months prior to the meeting.Objective 4: Provide a range of services referenced in the legislative authorities which include: (1) training (programs and workshops) for (a) advocates for individuals engaged in agriculture-related occupations; (b) other individuals/entities that may assist individuals who are in agriculture-related occupations or are in crisis; (2) support groups, (3) Outreach services and activities, including dissemination of information and materials.The 18 partners of the NC FRSAC will be engaged in successfully meeting the goals of objective 4. The first sub-objective is to offer Training (programs and workshops) for (1) advocates for individuals engaged in agriculture-related occupations; (2) other individuals/entities that may assist individuals who are in agriculture-related occupations or are in crisis. NCFRSAC plans to offer several training for advocates of producers and those individuals and entities that assist producers, including in crisis situations: Mental Health First Aid (MHFA); MHFA for Spanish Speaking Communities; Question, Persuade; Refer (QPR) as well as Agricultural Literacy for Health Care Providers (ALHCP); Relationships Can Heal: Knowing the Farmer Client (RCH); Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST); Farm Safe Certified (FSC); Certified Farm Succession Coordinator Training; A Changing Way of Life: Ambiguous Loss; and Ag Behavioral Health Training. Pre- and post-evaluation surveys will assess changes in knowledge, attitudes, and skills among participants.CS-CASH will deliver Bienvenido, a 9-week prevention intervention program for farmworkers, designed to (1) increase access to and use of mental health services, (2) reduce alcohol and drug use and other risk factors, and (3) increase immigrants' sense of belonging and participation in the community [24]. Marbleseed will coordinate an online support group for specialty growers/farmers via the Ag Solidarity Network (ASN) Growing Wellness Group, an existing online space for specialty growers.For outreach services, IL, MO, MI, and NE CES will work with nonprofit and healthcare organizations to provide mental health therapies for agricultural producers and their families. MO CES will offer the evidence-based intervention Skills for Psychological Recovery (SPR), which is a program tailored to the needs of producers and their families. SPR focuses on strengthening coping skills to manage stress, building resilience, and supporting good behavioral health adjustment in the face of acute and longer-term crises [3]. MI CES will partner with MSU Extension Teletherapy Program to provide online professional counseling to producers in the state. IL CES will work with an existing network of mental health providers to provide counseling services in Illinois.For outreach activities, educational workshops and resources for agricultural producers will include a farm economics program to 200 producers (NE CES), the development and pilot test of a disaster preparedness toolkit (NE CES), a program to reduce stress related to farm labor (WI CES), and a program about farm succession planning (WI CES). These programs will be evaluated using pre and post surveys and evaluations. ND CES will offer Design Your Succession Plan for Farm/Ranch Operations training sessions to agricultural operators and their family members as well as selected farm stress intervention programs, to agricultural workers and other community professionals or citizens supporting agriculture, specifically related to mental health awareness and wellness promotion with farm and ranch populations. The ND CES programs will be evaluated using pre- to post-program surveys to gauge changes in awareness, intentions, and attitudes.NC FRSAC will disseminate information and materials (4E) primarily through the CHW, including a comprehensive listing of NCFRSAC programs, resources, and services and via network partners. CHW will be advertised via social media posts and social media campaigns, CES media outlets, and on the NCFRSAC monthly newsletter and webinars. MO CES will develop public service announcements (PSA) and social media campaigns related to stress and mental health and will include links to the CWH and NCFRSAC resources. Purdue CES will develop publications and one PSA, which will include the phone number for the concern hotline and a link to the CHW. Purdue CES will also record and post five podcasts that will include the phone number for the concern hotline and a link to the CHW. Progressive Agriculture Foundation will create and disseminate resources for farm youth.