Josie Rudolphi Poster

Agricultural producers in the North Central region experience anxiety, depression, substance use, and death by suicide at disproportionately higher rates than the general population. The University of Illinois mobilized partners in the North Central region to form the North Central Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Center to create and expand stress management and mental health resources and services to agricultural producers as well as advocates and stakeholders. The key target audiences for this project include individuals engaged in production agriculture with specific emphasis on producers (male and female operators, farmworkers), farm youth and farm families, and allies of agricultural producers (specifically agribusiness professionals and healthcare providers). The North Central Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Center will expand programs that provide professional agricultural behavioral health intervention, support farm telephone hotlines and websites, and provide needed training and resources for producers, agriculture-related occupations, and individuals who support producers. Because many producers experience stress from financial situations and decision-making, the Center will also facilitate development and pilot-testing of farm financial decision-making programs. The project will increase community capacity and healthcare providers’ readiness to respond to producers’ mental health needs and potentially increase agricultural productivity.