Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** in the southern region, farmers and…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** in the southern region, farmers and ranchers continue to face stressors including reduced farmland, natural disasters such as tornadoes, flooding, drought, rising prices related to supplies like fertilizers and feed, and decreasing farming profits. These stressors contribute to increased risk of suicide and poor mental and physical health outcomes for farmers and ranchers. The combination of stressors and elevated risk for suicide make southern region efforts efforts more critical than ever to help alleviate some of the risk facing farmers. The southern region is called sage (stress assistance AG exchange) and this networkalso emphasizes resources targeted to historically marginalized groups to address issues related to continuing racial inequity in southern states. This includes identifying and promoting resources and research efforts focused on african american farmers throughout the southern region including the virgin islands as well as hispanic/latino farmers specifically in puerto rico as well as in other states including farm workers. In order to address farmer and rancher stress in the southern region, we plan to promote sage resources that were developed in previous rounds of funding. This includes the hotline that provides crisis intervention as well as case management services to farmers and ranchers, their family members, and professionals. The sage website includes a list resource by state that identifies services that provide support to root causes of farm stress. This resource list will continue to be enhanced through partner engagement with stakeholders and farmers throughout the southern region with a particular focus on states that have had limited engagement with sage to date. The hotline and the website will be promoted through local, state, and regional events throughout the southernregion that focus on farmers and ranchers. The findings from applied research projects that were previously funded will continue to be disseminated through webinars and extension publications. Additional emphasis will be placed on strengthening mental health services for farmers and ranchers throughout the region through trainings, education, and engagement of peer support networks.