Oklahoma Farm Bureau is proud to launch the Cultivating Healthy Minds program webinar series to bring awareness to mental health in Oklahoma’s agriculture community.
The program includes three live webinars, each featuring a speaker with expertise in promoting positive mental wellbeing in Oklahomans and the agriculture industry.
The webinars will be held at noon on the Friday following the first full week of the months of August, September and October. Each webinar will be hosted on the Zoom webinar platform, and registration is free and open to the public. Webinar participants will be able to anonymously pose questions to the guest speakers.
“It is so important for the Farm Bureau family to come together in times of need, especially in regard to mental health,” said Alisen Anderson, OKFB Young Farmers and Ranchers chair. “I want all our Farm Bureau family know it is important to ask for help when it comes to mental health, and we are stronger when we overcome challenges together.”
The first webinar focusing on how to have difficult conversations around mental health will kick off Friday, August 11, with speaker Adrienne DeSutter. DeSutter is an Illinois corn and soybean farmer and counselor who partners with agriculture businesses and organizations to promote healthy minds and prevent farmer suicide.
The second webinar will feature Dr. Christopher Graham on Friday, September 8, discussing stress management. Graham is a licensed clinical social worker with over 20 years of experience in the mental health field. He has his own practice and also works for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse.
The final webinar will focus on resilience in agriculture featuring Dr. Shannon Ferrell, a professor of Agricultural Economics at Oklahoma State University. The third webinar will cover how agriculturalists can progress through their own mental wellbeing journey to build a more vibrant and supportive agriculture community.
“In the agriculture industry, there is often a stigma around mental wellbeing,” said Mignon Bolay, the OKFB Women’s Leadership committee chair. “We are looking forward to breaking down the barrier and helping our friends and neighbors throughout this series.”
The program will culminate at the OKFB annual meeting in Oklahoma City in November, with a keynote speaker discussing the impacts of mental health on the agriculture community and how Farm Bureau members can be mental health advocates for themselves and fellow farmers and ranchers.
Details and links to register for the three webinars can be found on the OKFB website at okfb.news/CHM23.
In addition to the webinar series, OKFB will be sharing Farm Bureau member testimonials and mental health resources to bring awareness to the need to discuss mental wellbeing in the agriculture community.
Cultivating Healthy Minds is a collaborative, member-led program hosted by the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership committee and the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers committee.
