Farm Stress and Mental Health Resources Available to PA Animal Agriculture Industry

As part of a Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture effort, funded by a USDA Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN) Grant, several free mental wellness and farm stress resources are available to the Pennsylvania agriculture community. The Center for Dairy Excellence, Center for Beef Excellence, Center for Poultry & Livestock, PA Beef Producers Working Group, and Penn State Extension Dairy and Livestock teams have collaborated over the past year to find a baseline snapshot of the state of mental wellness in Pennsylvania agriculture and offer resources and avenues for support.

“We have to continue these conversations to make [mental wellness] an acceptable topic to talk about. We need to prepare our ag business professionals, family members, and rural community members to have these conversations. Hopefully the more we do that, it will continue to be normalized and the stigma and embarrassment will start to fade,” said Ginger Fenton, PhD, Dairy Extension Educator at Penn State Extension. “Employers should also promote access to these services such as telehealth and have conversations with employees to increase awareness of what resources are available.”

To gather the initial baseline snapshot of mental wellness in Pennsylvania agriculture, the group distributed the 2022 Pennsylvania Animal Agriculture Mental Wellness Survey and found several important conclusions from the survey responses:

• Mental health is recognized as an important issue by both farmers and agriculture professionals.
• Stress symptoms span the entire animal agriculture community.
• Fear, financial stress, and family dynamics are the greatest risks associated with stress symptoms.
• For those experiencing stress symptoms, obstacles such as cost, embarrassment, availability, and family are present.
• Women, younger generations, and larger farms face greater challenges.

To expand on the survey results with more targeted resources and programs, the following farm stress and mental health resources are available:

• 2022 Mental Wellness Survey Report and Webinar Recording – The full 2022 PA Animal Agriculture Mental Wellness report with survey findings is now available. A webinar recording in video format is also available to use at trainings and other meetings with agriculture professionals. In the webinar recording, Ginger Fenton, PhD, and Gina Pighetti discuss the survey results and next steps for the agriculture community. Visit www.centerfordairyexcellence.org/stress to view the survey results and webinar recording.