Completed Project Report


Reducing Human and Financial Risk for Beginning, Military Veteran, and Historically Underserved Farmers through Farm Stress, Wellness, and Safety Education

  • Award Amount: $48,404
  • Regional Center: Southern Extension Risk Management Education Center
  • Grant Program: 2019 Education Projects
  • Project Director: Kim Niewolny
  • Email: niewolny@vt.edu
  • Organization: Virginia Tech

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Project Overview

This project aimed to reduce human and financial risk for Virginia farmers with a focus on beginning, military veteran, and historically underserved farmers through farm stress, wellness, and safety education. This risk management initiative integrated within the Virginia Beginning Farmer and Rancher Coalition Program (VBFRCP), a coalition-based Extension program providing statewide curriculum and trainings for a diversity of new and establishing farmers. The AgrAbility Virginia Program and other partners collaborated on project aims. Our initiative created 11 resources, implemented 18 workshops, implemented 12 webinars, and conducted 2 farm dinner theatres, ultimately culminating in the creation of a farm stress and mental health toolkit for farmers and service providers to use. In addition to webinar recordings and a how-to guide for farm dinner theatre, the toolkit contains resources on grief during the time of the coronavirus pandemic, best practices for farm financial wellness, a decision-making guide for farm service providers, fictional case studies highlighting various farm stress and mental health issues, and a mental health assessment that farm service providers can use with farmers experiencing stress.  As a result, a total of 971 farmers and farmer educators improved their knowledge of farm safety, health, and wellness concepts, practices, and interventions. 

Number of Participants: 971

Outcomes

Project Steps

PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

There are no promotional materials available for this project.

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS

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REPORTS & EVALUATIONS

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DELIVERY AREA

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INDIVIDUAL STORIES / EXAMPLES OF SUCCESS / QUOTES