Wellness and Resilience
University of Maine Cooperative Extension offers a continually expanding and evolving wellness program that addresses important mental health and resiliency issues, a majority of which are applicable to the agriculture industry.
Community First Responder Program
The Community First Responder Program aims to provide education and resources to rural Mainers to be able to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose. Free naloxone (Narcan) and fentanyl test strip distribution is offered for those completing the online certificate program who live in qualifying rural counties.
Cultivating Wellness
When we plant a seed in the spring, it can take many resources and many hands to grow and thrive. The same is true for individual well-being. By broadening our conversations around the impacts of mental and physical health in the agriculture industry, we can build a stronger community together.
Farm Coaching
Coaching helps support relationships for farm success by building competency and capacity as managers and decision-makers on the farm.
Maine AgrAbility
AgrAbility aims to address the health and safety of workers across Maine – on the farm, on the water, and in the forest. The goal of the project is to inform, educate and assist farmers, fishermen, and forest workers with disabilities so they can continue to have successful careers in agriculture.
Maine Agricultural Mediation Program
Mediation provides alternative dispute resolution options to farmers, their lenders, and others directly affected by neighbor disputes, workplace and family disagreements, or the actions of government agencies.
Podcast: Cultivating Resilience
Created by Cultivemos (formerly the Northeast Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network), a USDA program that connects individuals who are engaged in farming, ranching, or other agriculture-related occupations to stress assistance programs. The podcast talks with real, independent farmers about the struggles they face every day including family farm succession, economic burdens, and rural isolation.
Resilience in Times of Stress
Violent events like mass shootings can be triggering on many levels. There are good resources available on how to cope when you are feeling trauma-related fear and anxiety, as well as how to better understand the impact of adverse and positive childhood experiences.