By Remington Rice and Cheryl Eschbach et.al
Farming is essential to our food system and rural communities, yet the demands of agricultural life can create significant stress for farmers and their families. Since 2016, Michigan State University (MSU) Extension's Managing Farm Stress educational programs and resources have helped thousands of agricultural professionals and farm families address economic, weather-related and personal challenges. As Michigan's leading provider of farm stress education and outreach, MSU Extension has emerged as a national leader, delivering presentations and facilitator training materials through the Cooperative Extension network and via USDA-funded regional partners, such as the North Central Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Center.
Today, MSU Extension is launching updated versions of two signature farm stress presentations featuring refreshed content, updated imagery and enhanced audience engagement. Designed to be both informative and interactive, the programs encourage participants to learn through discussion, connection, humor, hands-on activities and practical stress management strategies tailored to the realities of farming and agricultural life.
Brief history of MSU farm stress efforts
The original MSU Extension Managing Farm Stress initiative was built around two foundational research-based workshops, Communicating with Farmers Under Stress (CWF) and Weathering the Storm: Cultivating a Productive Mindset (WTS). In January 2019, a national train-the-trainer summit for Cooperative Extension professionals was offered to over 20 land-grant universities to provide both programs across the country. To support program implementation, an online, self-paced facilitator training course was developed, resulting in more than 100 professionals being trained to deliver the original programs.
Through funding from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture and with resources from the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (MDARD), the MSU Extension farm stress educational programs have grown statewide, regionally and nationally for nearly a decade.
Source : msu.edu