To highlight Mental Health Awareness Month, the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture is putting a spotlight on programs helping agribusinesses and farmers with their mental health. The Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN) Program is a project to help address the mental health needs of farm communities according to a release.
Edwin Lewis, Ph.D., NIFA national program leader, shared FRSAN is supporting stress assistance programs for people in farming, ranching and other agriculture-related occupations.
“These assistance networks help farmers and ranchers increase their behavioral health awareness, connects them to critical resources and help effect positive outcomes for them, their workers and their families,” Lewis said.
FRSAN supported a survey project at the University of Nevada, Reno, which concluded that stress and depression are more common in farmers and ranchers than people working in non-farm jobs. Those that participated in the survey also got to learn about coping strategies that may interest them. The project’s goal is to share information about managing stress.
