By Rebekah Hall
Worsening economic challenges have led to a “mental health crisis among farmers,” said Brittney Schrick, extension associate professor and family life specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
To help farm families cope, the Cooperative Extension Service is offering training in farm stress management and mental health first aid to equip producers and other members of the agriculture community.
However, there are barriers that keep some from getting the help they need.
“Stress feels like such a normal part of farming that often, people don’t think that they can benefit from learning how to manage it better,” Schrick said. “Then, especially when we get to the point where we are now in farm crisis mode they feel like there’s not anything they can do.”
Schrick said that though she and colleagues around the country have offered farm stress programming and similar in-person resources in recent months, they have found attendance that attendance is lacking.
“We know this is a needed topic, but farmers will not come,” Schrick said. “This is why we have to attack this problem from a different angle, with the goal of surrounding the agriculture community with people who are trained to recognize and respond to signs of extreme stress or mental health challenges.”
Schrick said community members can include farm lenders, extension agriculture agents and people who work at farmer co-ops, along with government employees, especially in small and rural areas.
“We want to reach anybody who interacts with and has long-term relationships with people in this industry, providing wrap-around support,” Schrick said.
Mental health first aid training
The Cooperative Extension Service, the outreach arm of the Division of Agriculture, offers a farm stress management program, which is delivered by local county extension agents.
Extension also offers an 8-hour Mental Health First Aid training course, which includes in-depth information about how to respond to someone experiencing a mental health or substance abuse crisis. The course also includes QPR suicide prevention training, which can be modified specifically for farmers and those who work with the population. QPR stands for question, persuade and refer the three steps anyone can learn to help prevent suicide.
The Division of Agriculture also houses the Southern Risk Management Education Center, one of four centers nationwide whose mission is to educate farmers and ranchers to manage the unique risks of producing food.
In 2025, 12 extension agriculture agents completed the suicide prevention training, along with 14 family and consumer sciences agents and four 4-H agents. At these trainings, Schrick said she has heard first-hand accounts from agents that illustrate how critical the resources are.
“Several agents have told stories in training that I’m just wowed by,” Schrick said. “Equipping agents to go on farm visits helps with their own mental health and their ability to be more vigilant. Going forward, if a farmer says something concerning that they might not have caught in the past, they now have an internal script they can use to follow up.
“These agents have built long-term, one-on-one relationships with these producers, and when an agent notices a change in behavior or notices that they’re talking in new ways, that agent will know how to respond,” Schrick said.
More skills, better tools
Schrick said that though there may be a perception among the farming community that mental health is a taboo topic, “everyone can benefit from managing stress better, because stressors aren’t going away.”
“For example, if your only way out is to leave farming, you’re still going to have stressors associated with that, and you’re still going to have to manage how your body and brain react to those stressors,” Schrick said. “Having a few more tools in your toolbox for how to do that especially if you can come to a training or meeting with other people who are in the same situation those are ways to build community and see that you’re not alone in this situation.
“It’s not a sign of weakness to build a skill set, because that’s really all it is,” she said. “It’s just like going to a training to learn how to manage your pastureland better. It’s no different to learn how to take care of your physical and mental health.”
Though it varies person to person, Schrick said stress can be incredibly damaging to relationships and to the body.
“If you are experiencing chronic stress, it can affect your cardiovascular system, it can make chronic illnesses harder to manage, and all of that is going to impact your family and your finances,” Schrick said.
Schrick said having relationship difficulties is also a common side effect of chronic stress, and “in worst case scenarios, we see domestic violence and child abuse.”
“This kind of stress about what is going to happen right now, next year, and years into the future has a significant impact on family dynamics,” she said. “It can have an impact on lives and livelihoods for generations to come. That sometimes can sound like hyperbole, but it’s not.”
Support the farming community
Schrick said the best way to support farmers and their families is simple: Be steady, supportive, and pay attention.
“Be there for them,” Schrick said. “Be present and let them know they’re not alone and that you can help however you can. Notice — that’s one of the best things we can all do. Pay attention and take notice if something seems off. If people are not acting like themselves, if they’ve started behaving in ways that seem like they’re in distress, reach out to them. Ask what you can do to help, or if you can help.”
Offering practical help when possible can also go a long way, Schrick said.
Source : uada.edu