R is for Rural and Resilient Webinar Series
Lessons Learned in the Implementation of a Standardized Evaluation Approach when Assessing Outcomes in Rural Youth Programming
Donna J. Peterson, PhD, and Laura H. Downey, DrPH, MCHES®
Extension Evaluation Specialists at Mississippi State University have promoted adoption of 4-H healthy living programming among rural youth through USDA-funded projects. In these projects, Evaluation Specialists have promoted the adoption of standardized approaches to evaluation and provided professional development to agents in the use of such approaches. Lessons learned through these projects relate to three key areas: 1) the importance of providing intensive professional development training to Extension agents on 4-H healthy living programs and evaluation; 2) the feasibility of replicating an evidence-based curriculum; and 3) the benefit of adopting a standardized approach to evaluation that used 4-H Common Measures. These lessons could inform the work of other professionals who are considering the adoption of a standardized program and uniform approach to evaluation when working with rural youth.
References:
Health Equity, Poverty, and Rural Resilience
Michael Meit
Rural populations comprise nearly 20% of the United States population and experience significant health disparities as compared to non-rural residents. This session will highlight what is known about rural health inequities and how they vary by rural geographic region, describe health inequities in Mississippi, present measures of rural prosperity that can help us to understand factors of risk and resilience in our rural communities, and highlight rural strengths and assets that can be leveraged to improve rural community health and well-being.
References:
The Need to Talk about Research in Rural Spaces
Krista L. Forbes
Rural communities have often been left behind when it comes to participation in research. But the amazing value to the community for the donation of their health data comes from working to ensure these communities are no longer overlooked, as well as to gain a better understanding of how lifestyle, environment, and biology interact with one's health.
There is still a lot of work to do to address a variety of barriers impacting rural communities such as accessibility to healthcare, higher prevalence of chronic illnesses like diabetes, and access to quality internet services. All of Us looks to identify those disparities that continue to hover over rural populations and impact one's health. We want and need to work with our rural partners to bring the program into your community.
References:
Understanding the Challenges of the BIPOC Farmer
Ray Jeffers
Ray was born and raised in Person County, NC, where he also operates the family’s century farm purchased by his great grandfather in 1919. Previously Ray served for 12 years as an elected Person County Commissioner (2008-2020), was President of N.C. Association of County Commissioners in 2014, and was an executive board member of the National Association of Counties. Ray continues to serve on several local and state boards promoting agriculture and rural communities. Ray attended Piedmont Community College and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
References:
Strengthening Community Response to Farm Stress and Mental Health
Rebekka Dudensing
Miquela Smith
Tiffany Lashmet
Farming is often identified as more stressful than other occupations, in part because financial stress, often triggered by outside forces, and family stress compound. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialists share their approaches to addressing farm and rural mental health awareness. Specific topics include identifying emerging trends, recognizing stressors and their impacts on farm families, and reducing stigma and improving mental health within farm and rural communities. The presenters point to resources available to help families, communities, and service providers address local needs.
References:
Paving a Way Forward - Heir Property
Veronica McClendon
Owning heirs property and the challenges that come with it can have a negative impact on the mental health and well-being of rural land owners. These impacts can be especially felt by farmers who make their living from the land. This webinar will help heirs property owners to find a path toward clear title, thus providing avenues toward increased resilience and opportunities to build wealth using inherited land.
References:
No Mississippian Left Behind: Barriers and Opportunities for Rural Mental Healthcare
Michael Nadorff
Rural Mississippians commonly encounter numerous barriers to seeking mental health care that prevent access to care. Although some of these barriers are apparent, such as few providers living in rural areas, other more covert barriers also exist. This presentation will discuss many of these barriers and strategies that can be employed to help make care more acceptable and available to rural Mississippians, as well as resources that can be employed to further increase access to care.
References:
Romantic Agrarianism: Living Up To the Farmer Ideal in Historical Context
Jim Giesen
Walk through a grocery store or tune into a pickup truck ad on television and you will encounter numerous images of the American farmer. Indeed, it’s safe to say that most people interact with these commercial, mythic ideals of farmers far more often than they do with the people actually working the land raising crops or animals. Using images from nineteenth-century paintings to country music videos, this talk explores the history of that mythic idea, charting its rise from the very founding of the United States into the twenty-first century to try to understand how this romantic version of agrarianism may impact farmers’ self-perception even today. It poses the question, does agrarianism create false expectations for farmers themselves?
References:
Inheritance Law, Cooperatives, and How They All Tie Together
Freddie Davis and Terence Courtney
Mr. Freddie Davis will lead a discussion with fellow experts in the field of inheritance law and the cooperative model and draw connections between these and their impacts on socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.
References:
Socioeconomic and Institutional Stressors and Strategies for Resilience Among Socially Disadvantaged Farm and Ranch Families
Dr. John Green
This presentation will focus on identifying the pathways through which socioeconomic stressors influence the quality of life and wellbeing among socially disadvantaged farm and ranch families, with additional attention to the ways in which social institutions may either exacerbate or mitigate these challenges.
References:
What We Have Learned About Agricultural Behavioral Health from the 1980s to the Present Day
Dr. Michael Rosmann
This first-in-a-series webinar examines the economic and social upheaval of the Farm Crisis of the 1980s and compares that era with the present-day strife associated with COVID-19, climate shifts, and federal agriculture policy uncertainties. There are lessons to be learned about how farmers and ranchers can manage stress, their behavioral health, and adapt in a complex socio-economic structure to optimize their production of agricultural commodities: food, fiber, and renewable biofuels. Social disadvantages, such as systemic racism, must be corrected at local, state, national, and international levels because the health and well-being of consumers worldwide depend on a behaviorally healthy and economically sustainable population of diverse agriculture producers who have equitable opportunities to maximize their productivity.
References:
- Behavioral Health Issues of Agricultural People - PDF
- Changes to Farm and Ranche Life on the Horizon - PDF
- Could Farmers be in for a Rouch time - PDF
- Mississippi State Univ. webinar, Nov. 17, 2020 - PDF
- Proper Planning is Needed to Manage Unexpected Stressors in Agriculture This year - PDF
- Uncertainty is Hurting Agricultural Producers - PDF
- Understanding Metal Health is Important to Farmers, Survey Reports - PDF
- Why Do People Farm 2-14-11-1.pdf
- Vimeo link
The Hidden Farm Crisis: Chronic Stress and Mental Health in Rural Communities
Dr. Brittney Schrick
Rural communities often lack access to health services. This barrier, along with cultural expectations of self-sufficiency, isolation, financial strain, and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic, has increased stress on communities that were already ill-equipped to cope. In this session, we will discuss these concerns, how the extension system is equipping farmers and their communities, and what we all gain from improved rural community health.
References:
Coping with Stress and the John Henryism Hypothesis
Erin King, MPH, MS
This webinar takes a look at the John Henryism hypothesis, what it means for farmers, and how stress and stress management affect people in rural communities.
References:
Publications
News
RAYMOND, Miss. -- Longtime dairy farmers David and Will Gilmer made the tough decision six years ago to get out of the dairy cattle business. The father-and-son team decided to transition their farm to beef cattle. However, the beef cattle business comes with its own stressful challenges.
Dr. Kim Klunk expected a certain level of stress when she began practicing veterinary medicine two years ago near her hometown of Magnolia, Mississippi. “It’s one of those things that you hear other people talk about when you’re in vet school, but you don’t realize the complexity of all of it until you experience it yourself,” said Klunk, who works with her mother Dr. Rachel Bateman at her mixed-animal clinic in McComb. It’s a common realization for many veterinarians who deal daily with financial concerns, work-life balance, compassion fatigue and client relationships among other stressful challenges of the profession.
While every job has stress points, few people go to work knowing they could lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in any given day. That is a reality for many in the agricultural sector, and mental health struggles are a frequent result.
Success Stories
In Rolling Fork, the Mississippi town in Sharkey County devastated by a twister on March 24, 2023, despair was not an option.
When Kathryn Reed saw that young people in her community needed more opportunities to participate in activities to help them grow spiritually and personally, she took action.
“We have a lot of activities for adults in our community, but there was nothing for our pre-teens and teenagers,” explains Kathryn. “We are losing them when they get to that age.”
Extension destigmatizes mental health issues, one conversation at a time
When Colby Hardin first started working at the Arkansas Department of Corrections dairy farm, he prepared as if going to war.