Hard copies of the toolkit are also available. If you'd prefer a hard copy, please reach out to us at [email protected].
Farm stress is the stress experienced by farmers and their families due to the unique agricultural work environment. The global health pandemic has had a substantial effect on farm stress. Farming and ranching communities already dealing with high stress levels saw incidents of drug and alcohol abuse rapidly increase, as well as rising numbers of death by suicide.
In response to the increasing need for mental health tools designed to address the specific needs of farm and ranching communities, the Mid-America Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC), the Mid-America Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC), and the Mountain Plains MHTTC collaborated to develop a set of easy-to-use ("Grab-n-Go") presentations and flyers for use by extension offices and behavioral health providers in farm communities. Based on interviews with extension agents in HHS Region 7 and HHS Region 8, the team identified four key areas of concern: mental health awareness, stigma, co-occurring disorders, and death by suicide.
