North Central Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Center: 2024-2025

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign mobilized partners in the North Central region to form the North Central Farmand Ranch Stress Assistance Center (NCFRSAC) to create and expand stress management and mental health resources andservices to agricultural producers and advocates and stakeholders who support agricultural producers.The NCFRSAC will: 1) Expand farm telephone hotlines and websites, 2) Expand programs that provide professional agriculturalbehavioral health intervention, and 3) Provide needed training and resources for producers, agriculture-related occupations, andindividuals who support producers. NCFRSAC will provide public value by expanding community capacity and healthcareproviders' readiness to respond to producers' mental health needs and potentially increase agricultural productivity by reducingpresenteeism, absenteeism, and work-related injuries.