Unprecedented times have unleashed an enormous amount of new and unique stressors on American farm families.
Unprecedented times have unleashed an enormous amount of new and unique stressors on American farm families. To help producers and their families better deal with stressful events, researchers in the University of Kentucky’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environment and College of Nursing have joined other scientists from across the South to develop resources to help producers combat stress.
“With all of the changes going on in the world right now, we want to make sure farm families have the resources they need to successfully work through these stressful situations,” said Tony Pescatore, extension professor in the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. “Producers find themselves not only facing financially stressful situations with market fluctuations that have been enhanced by COVID-19, but they also face emotional stressors related to their ties to their animals, if they are forced to reduce their herd.”
Pescatore and Jennifer Hunter, UK extension professor of family and consumer sciences, are co-investigators on a three-year, $7.2 million grant the University of Tennessee received from the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of their Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network. For their part of the grant, UK faculty and staff will conduct an analysis of current available mental health resources in Kentucky and determine what programming needs exist in the state in terms of farm stress and mental health. They will craft an action plan for Kentucky and help draft one for the entire Southern region, which includes 13 states and two U.S. territories.
Continue reading at University of Kentucky.
Image via Matt Barton, UK Agricultural Communications.
