Mental Health Week: Ground Truth Ag recognizes importance of mental health in agriculture
May 6-12 is Mental Health Week in Canada. To recognize the importance of mental health in the agriculture sector, Ground Truth Ag sat down with our Vice President of Commercial Development, Kim Keller, to talk about her work with The Do More Ag Foundation.
“I’m extremely passionate about mental health in agriculture,” Kim said. “In 2018, I co-founded The Do More Ag Foundation with a number of partners. It’s a national charity focused on providing mental health supports and raising mental health awareness in rural communities across Canada.”
As a farmer, Kim has a deep understanding of the mental health challenges agricultural producers can face.
“We know that stress, anxiety, depression, emotional exhaustion and burnout are all high in the agricultural industry,” Kim explained. “The industry has deep rural roots and is founded on hard work, resilience, strength and community – and while these traits can be a real strength, they can also create barriers for speaking up and seeking help when we need it.”
The Do More Ag Foundation operates several different programs to bring awareness to the importance of mental health and connect communities and producers with support. The Do More Ag Foundation’s Community Fund, which is presented by Farm Credit Canada, offers free mental health education to rural communities throughout Canada.
“We want to empower rural communities, providing them with the necessary tools to support themselves and others,” Kim said. “We don’t want cost to be a barrier for communities that want mental health training. From the beginning, Farm Credit Canada has been supportive of this initiative, working with us to provide these supports in communities across the country.”
Almost a year ago, The Do More Ag Foundation launched AgTalk, a peer support platform that is accessible across the entire Canadian agriculture industry. It provides a safe, secure and anonymous space where anyone 16 years of age or older can connect, share and receive support from a community of peers.
“AgTalk provides producers with peer support where they can turn to people who are going to know and understand what they are experiencing - and are going through very similar things,” Kim explains. “On the Do More Ag Foundation’s website, producers can also find connections to professional mental health supports, which can be really tough to access in rural areas.”
Since the launch of AgTalk, many people working in the agriculture sector have used it to receive peer support. Kim sees this as a positive but also recognizes it indicates the scope of need for mental health and peer support for farmers.
“The uptake was immediate. This is good because it means people connecting through the app clearly need and see the value of the support they are receiving,” Kim said. “But that level of need for the platform also breaks my heart, too, as it shows the state our industry is in and what our farmers are experiencing.”
For Kim, the next challenge she wants to address for farmers is making it easier to navigate and find supports.
“While mental health supports are available, they are also fragmented, and it can be hard for farmers to find or navigate the supports they need,” Kim explains. “As an organization, we are asking what barriers we can address to make finding support simpler and easier. Suicide should not be the cost of doing business in agriculture - and we won’t stop until that happens.”
For more information on The Do More Foundation, please visit their website at www.domore.ag. If you are in crisis, please visit your local emergency department or call 911. To learn more about AgTalk app, visit www.domore.ag/agtalk.
