Cultivate Wellness
Need advice and methods to cope with farm-related stress and build resilience?
University of Maine Cooperative Extension offers several programming areas and resources to assist you in handling the stressors and anxieties that can come with farming: whether it be financial, disabling physical and mental conditions, inclement weather, plant pests, livestock diseases, or isolation issues.
Along with these listings, we’ve provided information on the newly issued podcast “Cultivating Resilience.” The listing of the services that carry this podcast may be found on the sidebar of this page and in the Podcast: “Cultivating Resilience” section at the bottom of this page.
Table of Contents
- Helping Farmers Cope with Stress
- Maine Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (ME-FRSAN)
- Maine AgrAbility
- Maine Agricultural Mediation Program
- Podcast: Cultivating Resilience
Helping Farmers Cope with Stress
Farming can be stressful in the best of times. Financial worries, unpredictable weather, plant pests, livestock diseases, and isolation all contribute to farmers’ anxiety. Severe depression and suicidal thoughts can be common in our day and age. If you are concerned about yourself or about somebody else, help is available.
Maine Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (ME-FRSAN)
The Maine Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network is a grant-funded Statewide network supporting farmers, farmworkers, and agricultural service providers – of land, forest, and sea – with efforts to cultivate wellness and build resilience.
The ME-FRSAN project is affiliated with the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network Northeast (FRSAN-NE). FRSAN-NE aims to improve behavioral health awareness, literacy, access, and outcomes for farmers, ranchers, and farmworkers in the Northeast by developing a service provider network that can assist and meet the unique needs of agricultural workers.
Maine AgrAbility
The Maine AgrAbility project is dedicated to helping farmers, fishermen, and forest workers work safely and more productively.
Maine AgrAbility addresses a wide variety of disabling conditions, including, but not limited to, arthritis, spinal cord injuries/paralysis, back impairments, amputations, brain injury, visual impairments, hearing impairments, disabling diseases, cerebral palsy, respiratory impairments, and head injury.
Maine Agricultural Mediation Program
Because sometimes having a third party present can help a conversation move forward. We can talk with you about priorities, goals, and decision-making as you navigate changes in the future of the farm, immediate markets, and relationships with lenders.
Podcast: Cultivating Resilience
Created by Cultivemos (previously the Northeast Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network), a USDA Network that connects individuals who are engaged in farming, ranching, and other agriculture-related occupations to stress assistance programs.
Farm care starts with self-care. On this podcast, we’ll hear from real, independent farmers about the struggles they face every day and how they are overcoming them. We’ll provide resources to strengthen your mental health and survive uncertain times. And we’re building a community where farmers and ranchers can support each other because even the hardiest plants need the right conditions to grow.
Available on the following podcast services: