Mental Health Awareness Month: Resources to Manage Farm Stress

“Your mind is like a garden. You can choose to grow flowers, or you can grow weeds.” As we focus on the crops we’re planting this spring, it’s equally as important to think about what’s growing in our minds. Farming is a rewarding career and lifestyle, but it can be filled with uncertainty. You are not alone in facing these uncertainties, and nobody is immune to anxiety and stress.

With May being National Mental Health Awareness Month, this is a good time to pause and share some resources that could help you, your family, your friends, or your neighbors cope with the stress and uncertainty around you. Sometimes all it takes is taking time to listen to someone, pause and connect with your animals, unwind in your garden, or seek support just like you would visit a doctor for physical symptoms.

Here are resources to help you (and others) navigate stress on the farm: 

• Upcoming Webinar and Rural Resiliency Hub
• When Stress Becomes a Way of Life: What Dairy Farmers Need to Know
• Free Farm Stress Material to Display
• List of Mental Health Hotlines & Resources

Communicating With Farmers Under Stress: Free Webinar 

Join Penn State Extension educators at this free webinar on June 9 for professionals who serve the agricultural industry and work with farmers and their families. This webinar will help ag professionals recognize the signs of stress and how to communicate with and respond to farmers and their family members when they need assistance.

> Click here to sign up for the free webinar.

Farmer Mental Health Resiliency Resources

This “Farmer Mental Health Resilience” hub offers practical mental health resources, conversation tools, and real-world support tailored to the unique pressures of farming and rural life. Created for farmers, ranchers, and agricultural communities, this free program is designed to strengthen resilience, reduce stigma, and help save lives. The hub includes crisis resources, tips for managing isolation and loneliness, suicide awareness programs, and more.

> Click here to access the hub.

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