HENRY, Ill. – A mental health project collaboration between three Illinois county farm bureau offices has been recognized by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) as a 2023 County Activity of Excellence (CAE) winner, one of just 24 activities nationwide selected to be showcased at the 104th AFBF Convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico, next year.

To address a lack of access to mental health services available to central Illinois farm and rural families, the Bureau, Marshall-Putnam and Stark County farm bureau offices partnered with Arukah Institute of Health to build community support around the topic of farmer mental health for their CAE project. The initiative included hosting informational farmer breakfasts, launching podcast interviews through a local hospital, releasing an informational video on a mental health website, conducting TV news interviews and creating a portal allowing farmers to speak with mental health professionals in the comfort of their own community.

“During COVID we had been concerned about people being alone in their homes and on the farm, where it can be very solitary. We really wanted to do something that would help the farmers and the ag community in general,” said Tiffany Moodie, manager of the Marshall-Putnam County Farm Bureau (MPCFB). “The farm bureau office is a place they come for information on a lot of different topics, and we were hoping mental health would be something that we could assist them with as well, and also give them a location where they could get some help if they need it.”

Seeing that the need for mental health services in rural counties along the central Illinois River Valley extended well beyond the two counties served by the MPCFB, Moodie sought a collaboration with neighboring Bureau and Stark county farm bureau offices to bring the program to more people. Due to the response to the project and the needs of the rural central Illinois communities the farm bureau offices serve, the initiative expanded to connect with community partners and offer programming including women’s workshops and Mental Health First Aid courses.

“It just kind of grew from there, and we also have a group we joined called C5 Rural Network. We do a lot of community events on mental health. We represent the rural component of that group, and our work has just kind of snowballed,” Moodie said.

The three county farm bureaus assumed responsibility for various initiatives associated with the activity. Along with the Bureau County Farm Bureau, Moodie and her colleagues at the MPCFB took on the task of producing informational videos (available for viewing on YouTube) that “starred” local farmers.

“When you are talking to farmers you are talking to peers,” Moodie said. “The message is that it’s okay to talk about this subject, and that help is available if you need it.”

Perhaps the most outstanding feature associated with the initiative is the portal that allows rural residents to gain access to telehealth assets including therapy and treatment for mental health issues. Rural residents without access to the internet or who have difficulty navigating the web can utilize a public computer inside each farm bureau office building to reach out for professional mental health assistance.

“The goal is to allow them to access mental health services from their combines and their tractors, but we have a computer here as well. This allows them to talk to a counselor in an instant, instead of having to drive to Peoria or a far location for services,” said Moodie, who takes great pride in the rapid growth of the program beyond the Marshall County and Putnam County borders.

“We’re working with groups we usually never have an opportunity to work with on this project, including school districts, counseling organizations, sheriff’s departments and all sorts of people. It’s a way to make sure these resources are utilized and that we are making connections in these small counties. Helping each other is what I have most loved about this whole program,” Moodie said.

“I think that it’s our duty as the farm bureau to get these resources out to our rural families, so that they know they exist and that we are supporting them along the way the best we can,” she added.

The award-winning CAE was funded in part by a USDA rural health care grant program. The designation means that representatives from the three participating farm bureau offices will travel to San Juan in 2023 to compete for recognition as AFBF’s national 2023 CAE award winner.

According to an AFBF news release, 143 CAE entries across all membership categories were received, marking this as one of their most competitive years. In addition to the MPCFB collaboration, four other IFB county offices and their CAE projects were selected to advance to the showcase in San Juan. They are Dekalb County (CONCENTRATE on Agriculture), McLean County (Rural Route Safety Days), Champaign County (FarmDocs) and Cook County (Party for the Pollinators).

Making up nearly half of the field of 24 winners, an impressive 11 Ohio county farm bureau projects were selected as 2023 AFBF CAE award recipients. They were from Carroll, Jefferson and Harrison counties. One county farm bureau in Michigan – Berrien – was recognized. No county farm bureau offices in Indiana were recognized.