Iowa Ag Chief Touts Success of Farmer Mental Health Program

October 10, 2022 by Dan McCue
Iowa Ag Chief Touts Success of Farmer Mental Health Program
(Photo by Demian Tejeda-Benitez via UnSplash)

DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa farmers are reaping the benefits of a new mental health and wellness and stress assistance program, according to Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig.

The program, Farm and Ranch Wellness: Meeting Local Needs, started in August 2021, just after the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship was awarded a $500,000 grant to expand farmer mental health support programs.

Since then, the department has partnered with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach to help raise awareness about mental health and wellness resources and make them more accessible to farmers and rural communities.

“We want anyone dealing with stress and mental health challenges to know that they are not alone,” Naig said in a written statement. 


“This successful partnership between the department and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach has helped to ensure that mental health and wellness resources are available and accessible to farm families and residents of our rural communities across our state,” he said.


Through this grant, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach staff have provided more than 1,500 direct one-on-one local consultations and nearly 6,000 group consultations across the state, sharing key farm stress resources. 

Individual contacts have been made with veterinarian offices, cooperatives, banks and credit unions, certified public accountants, crop production services, Farm Service Agency offices, Farm Credit Service offices, local seed companies, farm implement dealers and many others. 

Group consultations have been offered at Private Pesticide Applicator, Farmland Leasing and Annie’s Project meetings, as well as to county extension councils and Rotary clubs, among others. During these consultations and meetings, more than 25,000 farm stress resource publications have been shared.

“What is important is that we put a list of exceptional resources into the hands of individuals and businesses who could most benefit,” said Dr. David Brown, behavioral health state specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. 


“Our farmers, ranchers and producers are still being impacted by the lingering effects of COVID-19, drought and high input costs, and can still benefit from stress assistance and other forms of support,” he said.

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue

A+
a-

In The News

Health

Voting

In The States

Is the David Porn? Come See, Italians Tell Florida Parents

ROME (AP) — The Florence museum housing Michelangelo’s Renaissance masterpiece the David on Sunday invited parents and students from a... Read More

ROME (AP) — The Florence museum housing Michelangelo’s Renaissance masterpiece the David on Sunday invited parents and students from a Florida charter school to visit after complaints about a lesson featuring the statue forced the principal to resign. Florence Mayor Dario Nardella also tweeted an invitation... Read More

New Maryland Clinic Opening in Post-Roe 'Abortion Desert'

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A new abortion provider is opening this year in Democratic-controlled Maryland — just across from deeply... Read More

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A new abortion provider is opening this year in Democratic-controlled Maryland — just across from deeply conservative West Virginia, where state lawmakers recently passed a near-total abortion ban. The Women’s Health Center of Maryland in Cumberland, roughly 5 miles (8 kilometers) from... Read More

Veto Puts Kentucky in Thick of Fight Over Transgender Rights

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's veto of a bill aimed at transgender health care puts the state in the... Read More

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's veto of a bill aimed at transgender health care puts the state in the middle of a national fight, but with more immediate consequences as the state's looming election offers an early test on the state-by-state assault on gender-affirming care... Read More

Mississippi Tornadoes Kill 23, Injure Dozens Overnight

ROLLING FORK, Miss. (AP) — Powerful tornadoes tore through the Deep South on Friday night, killing at least 23 people... Read More

ROLLING FORK, Miss. (AP) — Powerful tornadoes tore through the Deep South on Friday night, killing at least 23 people in Mississippi, obliterating dozens of buildings and leaving an especially devastating mark in a rural town whose mayor declared, “My city is gone.” The Mississippi Emergency... Read More

March 25, 2023
by Claire Cleveland
Bill Could Ban Girls From Talking About Their Periods in School

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — In Florida, Republican lawmakers have introduced a bevy of new legislation that will, if passed, restrict certain... Read More

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — In Florida, Republican lawmakers have introduced a bevy of new legislation that will, if passed, restrict certain health educational materials used in state schools. One such bill, House Bill 1069, would limit children below sixth grade from discussing their menstrual cycles in school. ... Read More

March 24, 2023
by Dan McCue
Solar + Storage Transforming Former West Virginia Industrial Site

RAVENSWOOD, W. Va. — Like a lot of communities in America’s heartland, Jackson County, West Virginia, was built on natural... Read More

RAVENSWOOD, W. Va. — Like a lot of communities in America’s heartland, Jackson County, West Virginia, was built on natural resources. Timber and energy wrought from the ground helped sustain and grow its population, and the arrival of manufacturing in the mid-1950s — in the guise... Read More

News From The Well
scroll top