St. Paul, MN. (7/13/2026)— On July 8, Meg Moynihan, Minnesota Department of Agriculture
(MDA) ‘farm stress lady’ and Angie Peltier, UMN Extension crops educator joined UMN
Extension IPM educator Anthony Hanson for a discussion about some of the unique stressors
associated with farming and the many resources available to assist those experiencing it. This
was an episode of the 2026 UMN Extension Strategic Farming: Field Notes series of webinars.
This program runs from 8 to 8:30 a.m. each Wednesday morning through at least August 12,
through the generous support of the farm families of the Minnesota Soybean Research &
Promotion Council and the Minnesota Corn Research & Promotion Council.
A session focused on farm and rural stress, unique aspects related to producing crops or raising
livestock and some of the taxpayer-funded resources available to assist farmers experiencing
stress. The culture of rural Minnesota is such that while many seem to know much of others’
personal business, folks worry that it would be considered ‘prying’ to broach the subject of farm
or rural stress with folks that might be struggling. But sometimes it is these interactions with
others that can save the life of someone considering suicide. Therefore, a webinar/podcast
devoted to talking about farm and rural stress was both IMPERITIVE for all and uncomfortable
for many.
Talking about the trend of fewer humans farming larger tracts of land and how this has impacted
rural stress, Moynihan stressed, “we’ve lost a lot of the human beings who used to be on the
land, so folks might not have the support network with an army of peers being in the same boat
with you.” This makes the many taxpayer-funded resources provided by the Minnesota
Department of Agriculture to assist folks dealing with farm stress all the more important. “We
are unique in Minnesota in that the legislature appropriates funds for farm and agricultural
mental health services. We have three women who are licensed mental health practitioners. They
provide services to farmers, farm family members and others connected to agriculture who are
struggling with psychological or emotional issues; it’s free and completely confidential.”
For more information about coping with farm and rural stress visit the MDA’s farm resources at
https://www.mda.state.mn.us/about/mnfarmerstress or UMN Extension’s resources at
https://extension.umn.edu/stress-and-change/rural-stress. For those that missed this session, it is
now available to listen to on your favorite podcasting platform or online at:
https://strategicfarming.transistor.fm/#. ——-
For more news from U of M Extension, visit http://www.extension.umn.edu/news or contact
Extension Communications at extnews@umn