Developing and Implementing Farm Stress Training to Address Agricultural Producer Mental Health

Abstract

Farmers and ranchers (agricultural producers) have higher psychological distress and suicide rates than the general population. Poorer mental health status and outcomes among producers are often attributed to the continuously challenging economic, social, and climate-related changes to agriculture as an occupation and industry. This article describes the development of a training program for agribusiness professionals from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (N = 500) who work with producers, as they regularly interact with producers and thus are in a position to readily offer helpful mental health resources. The goal of the program was for agribusiness professionals to build skills and confidence to identify and respond to distressed producers. The educational program was offered primarily online and included a 1-day in-person training to practice skills to communicate with distressed producers and refer them to appropriate mental health resources. Evaluation of the program demonstrated participants experienced gains in knowledge and skills related to identifying and helping distressed producers.

Landscapes of support for farming mental health: Adaptability in the face of crisis

“…Additionally, our study reinforces existing research that articulates the importance of a wide safety net for mental health (Cuthbertson et al., 2022; Hossain et al., 2010; Robertson et al., 2021), the issue of the digital divide (Bernard et al., 2019; Hurley et al., 2022; Philip et al., 2017; Phillipson et al., 2020) and the effects of barriers to help‐seeking (Cole & Bondy, 2020; Hagen et al., 2021; Henning‐Smith et al., 2021; Vayro et al., 2020a, 2020b). Our study identifies, however, that these factors can reduce the adaptability of landscapes of support and their ability to operate in new circumstances.…”

“…(2020) analysed the ‘In the Know’ mental health training programme for farmers and people working with farmers in Ontario, Canada. After participating in a 4‐h course, all participants reported increased knowledge in recognising mental health problems and speaking to others about it throughout the 6‐month post‐training period (see also Cuthbertson et al., 2022; Hammersley et al., in press; Hossain et al., 2010).…”

Farmer Mental Health Interventions: A Systematic Review

“…Pre- and post-survey data from the 4-h In the Know intervention for Canadian farmers [ 75 ] indicated significantly improved mental health knowledge and confidence in recognizing and intervening to aid farmers in distress. Pre- and post-survey data from the Farm Stress Training (FST) program for Farm Service Agents in the United States, a primarily self-paced online educational program with a 1-day in-person practice session, similarly indicated improved knowledge and skills in identifying and helping distressed farmers [ 76 ]. The 2- to 4-h mental health literacy program Communicating with Farmers Under Stress (CFS) was developed by Michigan State University Extension in the US to help agribusiness professionals understand and aid the mental health needs of the farming community [ 72 ].…”

“…A., Hart, L., and Greig, J. 2009 Assessment of the efficacy and performance of the New South Wales Rural Mental Health Support line Australian Journal of Rural Health ✖ [ 76 ] Cuthbertson, C., Brennan, A., Shutske, J., Zierl, L., Bjornestad, A., Macy, K., Schallhorn, P., Shelle, G., Dellifield, J., Leatherman, J., Lin, E., and Skidmore, M. 2020 Developing and implementing Farm Stress Training to address agricultural producer mental health Health Promotion ✖ [ 72 ] Cuthbertson, C., Eschbach, C., and Shelle, G. 2021 Addressing farm stress through Extension mental health literacy programs Journal of Agromedicine ✖ [ 108 ] DeLind, L. B. 1986 The U.S. farm crisis: Program responses and alternatives to them: The case of Michigan Agriculture and Human Values ✖ ✖ [ 127 ] Dickens, S., Dotter, E., Handy, M., and Waterman, L. 2014 Reducing stress to minimize injury: the nation’s first employee assistance program for dairy farmers Journal of Agromedicine …”

Potential directions for farm stress research: A systematic review of educational interventions to reduce psychosocial stress among farm and rural populations

“…Thus far, research supports the use of educational interventions, but it does not support a specific intervention design to reduce psychosocial stress among farm and rural populations. 61,62 In studies among other disparate populations, high attrition rates (> 20%) are often reported. High attrition may suggest that current intervention designs have limited feasibility, which leads to mixed results.…”