Resources for Emotional/ Mental Support for Farmers in Minnesota

Farming can be a stressful industry to be in, especially these days of high input costs, low commodity prices and volatility. Please know that there are many resources out there to assist farmers through this difficult time, outlined below. Please share these resources with those that may be interested. 

Rural Mental Health Counselors

Ted Matthews – 320-266-2390

Monica McConkey – 218-280-7785

Ted & Monica work with farmers across Minnesota. No cost; no paperwork. This service is available thanks to funds from the Minnesota State Legislature.

Farm Resiliency Resources

Please ask for help. Click the underlined phrases for more information.

Minnesota Farm and Rural Stress Resources

-Minnesota Department of Agriculture 

Resources for difficult times 

Find help, counseling, advocacy, legal and referral resources.

Farm financial counseling 

Experiencing financial stress? Call 1-800-232-9077 for free, confidential financial counseling.

Farmer-Lender mediation 

Need help with farm debt? Learn how mediation can help.

Source: University of Minnesota Extension

Cultivating Resiliency for Women in Agriculture

Sessions to Help Weather Stress

 Raising awareness of farm stress is important, but offering some tools to help weather the stress is critical. This interactive online series sets out to help women in agriculture cultivate resiliency by focusing on what they can control in these challenging times and connect them with resources and information that can help them weather stress. 

-You can listen to archived sessions on UMASH. Upcoming sessions include the following. Click on each link to register.

TransFARMation

Prompted by the many sources of stress currently impacting farmers and ranchers, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the Red River Farm Network have joined forces to create a new radio and podcast series called TransFARMation

TransFARMation: Farm Stress in Farm Children 

TransFARMation: Maneuvering the Farm Economy and Moving Forward

TransFARMation: Faith and Farming

TransFARMation: If Your Horse is Dead, It’s not Going to Get you to Town

TransFARMation: Dealing with the Uncontrollable 

TransFARMation: It’s OK To Not Be OK

TransFARMation: Taking Time for a Farm Transition