Agriculture is an economic and social bedrock of the united states, yet for decades, farmers, ranchers, and farmworkers have endured growing challenges that increase their levels of stress

The suicide rates among male farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers in 2012 and 2015 were 44.9 and 32.2 per 100,000, respectively, while the national average was 12.9 in 2012 and 13.7 in 2015 (murphy ET AL., 2015, 2017). Although many organizations in the northeast provide some of these services, until the 2019 launch of the farm and ranch stress assistance network - northeast (FRSAN-NE), they were not effectively working together and were unable to easily connect a farmer client with the array of services needed to fully address their crisis. This project will support the sustainability of farm stress assistance in the northeast region by enhancing and expanding an existing network of service providers. Through this network, service providers will build capacity to effectively serve their farm clients utilizing a diverse array of trainings, resources, best practices, and network-building opportunities. In addition, the project will address the immediate stress assistance needs of farmers, ranchers, and farmworkers by expanding the existing online clearinghouse and helpline to more effectively connect farmers with resources, developing farmer behavioral health self-assessment tools, and conducting a communications campaign to raise farmer awareness of stress and coping strategies. Finally, the success of this project will be supported by a strong evaluation process and clear structures for sharing and disseminating the resources developed. Together, these activities will produce an educated and established network, improvements to farmer behavioral health across the region, and a reduction in suicide rates.