Farm and Ranch Stress and Mental Health

Supporting Farmer and Agricultural Community Wellbeing

The MTSU Center for Health and Human Services and MTSU School of Agriculture are partnering to support farmer stress, mental health, and wellbeing efforts across Tennessee as part of the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network South (FRSAN South). Middle Tennessee State University has been named Tennessee’s Lead Partner Organization (LPO) for the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network South (FRSAN South), with the MTSU School of Agriculture and Center for Health and Human Services (CHHS) jointly leading the statewide effort. A grant awarded to the School of Agriculture will support the partnership’s work to convene and engage organizations across Tennessee, strengthen awareness and access to farmer stress and mental health resources, and build connections among agricultural, health and community partners.

Developed collaboratively by the two MTSU units, the initiative brings together complementary expertise in agriculture, rural health, mental health and community engagement. The work will focus on increasing awareness of available support, reducing stigma surrounding mental health, strengthening connections to services and expanding access to trusted farm stress resources for Tennessee’s agricultural communities.

Through this initiative, MTSU will work with agricultural organizations, rural communities, behavioral health partners, and other stakeholders to increase awareness of available support, reduce stigma, strengthen referral connections, and expand access to trusted farm stress resources.

As Tennessee’s LPO for the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network South we are committed to: Convening, connecting, engaging, promoting, assessing, and sharing.

Project Activities

Activities will include:

• QPR suicide-prevention training for agricultural stakeholders, students, and community members
• Outreach and distribution of FRSAN South tools and resources
• Partner meetings and listening sessions
• Identification of farm stress, mental health, and wellbeing resources available to Tennesseans
• Collaboration with agricultural educators, Extension personnel, community organizations, healthcare providers, lenders, agricultural businesses, and other trusted partners

Help Us Identify Resources

We are developing a Tennessee Farm Stress and Wellbeing Resource Directory to help agricultural communities more easily identify available programs, services, training opportunities, and support resources.

Know of a resource that should be included?

[Submit or Recommend a Resource] – COMING SOON!

Questions about submitting a resource may be directed to:

Kerry Foley
Project Coordinator
Kerry.Foley@mtsu.edu

Project Contacts

For general questions about the project, please contact:

Chaney Mosley, Ph.D.
MTSU School of Agriculture
chaney.mosley@mtsu.edu

Cynthia Chafin, Ph.D., MCHES®, NBC-HWC
Director, MTSU Center for Health and Human Services
cynthia.chafin@mtsu.edu

About FRSAN South

FRSAN South connects organizations throughout the Southeastern United States to strengthen outreach, education, partnerships, and access to resources addressing stress and mental health within farming and ranching communities.

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