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INVESTIGATOR: Randle, A.; Adams, ME, .; Arruda, RO, .

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES, MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF
251 CAUSEWAY STREET STE 500
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 021142119

FRSAN-SDA MA FY21 - STRENGTHENING AND ENHANCING THE FARM AND RANCH STRESS ASSISTANCE NETWORK IN MASSACHUSETTS

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources(MDAR)seeks to address the current mental health and wellness gaps that existwithin the state and expand the availability of resources to farmers, state staff, service providers, and partner organizations.The pandemic has ledthe agricultural communitytofaceextremeadversity in addition tonavigating pre-existing challenges,which has severely impactedmental health andwellness. Through a collaborative approach, MDAR will 1.) Contract with state and regional service providers to conduct trainings for farmers, state staff, sub-contractorsand service providers; 2.) Develop and disseminate a mental health and wellness toolkit; and 3.) Partner with state and regional service providers, professionals, and industry mental health experts to share resources and conduct outreach to the agricultural community. Target audiences for the project include farmers, with special consideration to, Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), Veterans, Environmental Justice communities, and socially disadvantaged populations. MDAR will partner with and leverage the knowledge and expertise of service providers in the state and regional network, including Land for Good, Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation, National Young Farmers Coalition, New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, and University of Massachusetts (UMass) Extension Services. The anticipated reach of the project for the first year will be 300 individuals who will complete the trainings offered. The project will be led by Ashley Randle, Deputy Commissioner, with support from Melissa Adams, Farm Viability and Agricultural Business Training Programs Coordinator, and Rose Arruda, Urban Ag Coordinator.

OBJECTIVES: Objective 1: Training for Farmers, State Staff, Sub-Contractors, and Service ProvidersProvide trainings to Massachusetts farmers, as well as professionals who work with farmers and farm workers (e.g., MDAR staff, subcontractors, and other agricultural service providers)in order toincrease their knowledge, understanding and ability to take action on mental health concerns including:1) how to recognize stress and signs of need2) how to listen and communicate effectively3) what resources are available and how to refer/accessMDAR will subcontractaccording to state procurement policieswith a qualified instructor to conduct ½ day trainings in 4 locations across the state:Southeastern MACentral MAWestern MABerkshiresMDAR will reach farmers and professionals by notices sent directly to staff, subcontractors and partnering organizations, and posted to websites, relevant listservs. MDAR will collaborate with FRSAN-NE for outreach and materials describing theneed and importance ofthese trainings. Field events and conferences will also be incorporated into the outreach for trainings to be held.The measure of success will be trainings offered and completed by 300 farmers, state staff, subcontractors, and service providers. A minimum of twelve (12) trainings will be held across the state.Objective 2: Develop and Disseminate a Mental Health and Wellness ToolkitMDAR will develop and publish acompetitiveRequest for Services (RFS)in accordance with state procurement policyto engage with a contractor to develop a mental health and wellness toolkit. The contract award is anticipated to be $100,000. A survey will be conducted to initially identify the specific resource needs of Massachusetts farmers and frame the scope of outreach materials to be produced. Focus groups may also be included as part of the research phase of the program, based upon the contractor's input. The proposed toolkit will include print and digital media, webinars, factsheets, articles, and website content development.TheNational Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC) will serve as the FY20-22 FRSAN-NE regional lead,andMDAR will partner with NYFC to disseminate the toolkit and leverage the resources that they develop as part of their grant award. MDAR will also partner with state and regional service providers and stakeholder organizations including theNortheast Farmers of Color, Buy Local Collaborative, Land for Good, Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation, New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, NYFarmNet, UMass Extension Services, and the Urban Farming Institute.MDAR maintains strong relationships with the aforementioned stakeholders through a.) conferences (I.e.Harvest New England Conference, Urban Farming Conference), b.)bi-weekly stakeholder calls held throughout the pandemic and now monthly, and c.) regular meetings and engagement (Food Policy Council, Board meetings).As mental health is a sensitive topic, MDAR will leanintoour partnerships and workwith organizations that farmers trust.The key deliverables and measures of success will include number of survey respondents, number of visits to the website, number of materials distributed/requested, and development of a comprehensive toolkit targeted towards Massachusetts farmers' respective needs.Objective 3: Partner Organizations as Education and Awareness ProvidersMDAR will partner with key agricultural organizations to provide mental health education and create awareness for farmers through their existing networks.Through the funding provided by MDAR, state and regional service providers and stakeholder organizations will develop/host a designated webpage on their websites with resources, such as the Mental Health and Wellness toolkit, as well as develop a PR campaign to promote resources within the region they serve. Funding for staff training and integrating educational materials into current literature and communications will serve as another tool for informing farmers of services. The intention is to not only provide services and referrals, it is to also to normalize the idea within the farming community to ask for and receive help for mental health needs.The key deliverables include partnering with at least fifteen (15) organizations, including the aforementioned service providers in Objective 2, to utilize their websitesby building out a webpageon MDAR's sitethat will offer a wide selection of mental health resources, coupled with a3-6 monthPR/outreach campaign to promote those resources, reaching thousands of farmers across the state. These organizations will track and report the percentage (%) of BIPOC and Veteran populations reached, among other important stakeholder groups.

APPROACH: Objective 1:Contract with state and regional service providers to conduct trainings for farmers, state staff, sub-contractorsand service providers.Objective 2:Develop and disseminate a mental health and wellness toolkit.Objective 3:Partner with state and regional service providers, professionals, and industry mental health experts to share resources and conduct outreach to the agricultural community.

PROGRESS: 2022/09 TO 2023/08
Target Audience:Target Audience Reached During the reporting period (September 2022 - August 2023) MDAR utilized several internal and external resources to announce the program's formation to the Massachusetts agricultural community, request their participation in initial qualitative and quantitative field research and invite them to participate in online and in-person peer support skills training. Following the peer-support training, MDAR entered into an agreement with fourteen agriculture focused organizations statewide in next step efforts to develop a peer-to-peer support network. The target audience of MDAR's outreach included the following agriculture community representative groups: Farm owners Farm managers Farm workers Farm family members Underserved farm community members including Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and members of the LGBTQ+ community MDAR partner organizations Professional service providers including MDAR and USDA personnel Direct interaction with the target audience was a source of in-depth knowledge building and education for the MDAR project team. The feedback from the target audience is being utilized to inform the project direction and the services it offers. The target audience participation rates are best demonstrated by a review of the in-person and online survey respondent distribution, including respondent type, age, and county of their location: The target audience was selected to best identify the mental health concerns and challenges experienced by the entire Massachusetts agricultural community. Through direct contact with the target audience, MDAR was able to identify: Mental health areas of concern How current mental health services are accessed and the barriers to access Mental health resources, including counseling services, most needed by the target audience Analysis of Target Audience Based on its knowledge of the Massachusetts agricultural community through years of direct work, MDAR was able to provide the resources required to reach farm owners, managers, and workers, including existing partner organizations that have supported farmers over the years, to participate in the program development. Those identified as farmers made up 73% of the Department's research participants, while Partner Organizations (17% of respondents) and professional staff (9%) accounted for a large number of participants. This survey participation helped the Department not only identified the mental health services need, but also some of the leading voices in the Massachusetts agricultural community that have agreed to be partners in MDAR's on-going MassGrown Wellness program efforts. This partner organization resource will help MDAR expand its program reach with their local connections to the agricultural community in the area of their geographic headquarters. The partner organizations will also include those that have specific areas of focus, including support for BIPOC farmers, young farmers (4H) and urban farmers. Organizations with a focus on produce groups are future farming trends will also participate. At the time of this report, 14 Massachusetts farming organizations are part of the MassGrown Wellness Partner Organization outreach group (complete list under Accomplishments Section of report). Target Audience Outreach Efforts and Methodologies Monthly Updates on the program resources, trainings and outreach to farmers, state staff, partner organizations and those that support the Massachusetts agricultural community via Direct email to MDAR's statewide contact database MDAR's Farm and Market Report MDAR social media channels, including FaceBook and Twitter (X) Press Releases through MDAR marketing and media communications channel on formation of program Direct email invitations to target audience to participate in MDAR's Mental Health and Wellness online and in-person surveys. Over 20,000 direct solicitations for participation were emailed to the Department's central email database several times via the Department's outreach platforms, including, Monthly Farm & Market Report ListServ contact lists of the MDAR Urban Agriculture Producers and the MDAR Environmental Justice programs. Social Media posts for recruitment of target audience for survey participation. More than 4,400 MDAR Facebook followers over three survey participation posts (approximately 12,000 impressions). MDAR's Mass Dept of Ag (@MassDeptAgr) Twitter account Tweets - 2,749 followers (approximately 8,100 impressions over three Tweets). In-Person Events Distribution of survey recruitment postcard at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, MA in the Massachusetts Exposition Building, September 2022. Target Audience Recruitment for in-person and online Peer Support training programs Direct emails sent December 19, 2022 January 6, 2023 January 27, 2023 More than 4,400 MDAR Facebook followers were invited to participate through multiple posts over a five-month period for fourteen training sessions. Approximately 30,000 Facebook impressions) are estimated. Multiple tweets on Twitter generated an estimated 15,000 impressions over the five-month recruiting period. Registration social media post in Spanish were utilized to reach farmers and staff with Spanish as a primary language to expand reach and maximize inclusivity. Spanish Farmer and Staff online training was held in March, 2023. Provided online registration portal that allowed interested parties to register by their identified group (farmer or professional staff/support organization) and offered multiple training session registration by date and time of day to best meet participants availability. Changes/Problems: The request for a more personal mental health counseling service has remained an outstanding issue. While the program has identified several mental health resources for the farming community, a need for a farm-informed mental health counseling service remains. The opportunity for a peer-based support network was discovered during program development and a plan has been put in place to develop this network. A contractor (Farm First) has entered into an agreement with the Department to train a group of up to ten individuals who are part of the Commonwealth's farming community (farm or professional staff), who will participate in a series of training courses. These leaders will work with the Department to develop their local geographic network of peer supporters. Recent events (flooding disaster and a recent farm death) have raised the MDAR team awareness of the need to add resources and supports that address the grief these events may bring and its impact on mental health and well-being. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Objective 2: Develop and Disseminate a Mental Health and Wellness Toolkit Toolkit development took place from June 2022 through August of 2023. The Toolkit consists of: An Online Survey of over two hundred Massachusetts farmers, state staff and partner organizations. An In-Person focus group with eight participants and moderator. Development of print materials for in-person events. Each of the print materials were produced in English, Spanish and Portuguese based on research of the most commonly spoken languages in the state's agricultural community. 11 x 17 posters with QR code link to the MassGrown Wellness website to raise awareness of resources and begin the conversation on mental health and wellness. 4 x 6 postcard with QR code link to the MassGrown Wellness website to raise awareness of resources and begin the conversation on mental health and wellness. Survey result fact sheets highlighting the most prominent issues expressed by survey participants and included the topics: Farming and Mental Health Raising Awareness Accessing Services An updated MassGrown Wellness web site (www.mass.gov/massgrownwellness) was launched in June of 2023. The redesign included: A single page guide on recognizing and reacting to signs of farmer mental health distress A video series addressing the efforts to reduce the stigma associated with talking about mental health concerns, developing the skill sets to become an ally and the continued requirement for communication and outreach to the farming community. A list of our partner organizations to provide local contacts for farmers and staff which work as a liaison to the local farming communities for the MassGrown Wellness program. An expanded listing of mental health resources and support available to Massachusetts farmers by categories, including: 24/7, 365 day a year mental health crisis line developed by Massachusetts's Department of Mental Health and Massachusetts's Department of Public Health BIPOC Farmers Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Farmers Farm Owners and Managers LGBTQIA+ Farmers Veteran Farmers Young and Beginning Farmers Women Farmers Farm Focused PodCast, Websites and Social Media Resources In response to the on-going flooding disaster in Masschusetts, a list of resources to help farmers and staff manage their emotional reactions was developed and posted to the MassGrown Wellness web site in July, 2023. Identify program name based on survey and focus group feedback (MassGrown Wellness). Design of program logo and a branding campaign. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Objective 3: Partner Organizations as Education and Awareness Providers It was learned during the survey and training work that a number of agricultural focused organizations had a desire to be a part of the MassGrown Wellness program by distributing the programs printed information materials and outreach signage. This is an important part of the program's original outreach focus and is now being supported by the Massachusetts's agricultural community and MDAR's existing partner organizations. To develop the partner organization network statewide, MDAR Reached out to over forty potential partner organizations providing an overview of the program and extending an offer to partner with MDAR and help disseminate printed materials, provide information about MassGrown Wellness on their organization's web site and host events and gatherings for their members to discuss the program and share resources. MDAR developed a partner organization agreement according to MDAR legal policies and came to agreement with fourteen organizations for the launch of the partner organization program. Hosted an online MassGrown Wellness Partner Organization program overview, review of available resources and discussion of expectations for the partner organization outreach efforts. The event was hosted by MDAR and its public relations contractor on May 24, 2023, and was attended by over twenty-five people. Developed a separate, partner organization only web page at Mass.gov to provide the partner organizations with access to the print materials (posters, postcards, and fact sheets), peer support training videos (English and Spanish language versions) and a PowerPoint slide deck used during the video training (English). The current list of Partner Organizations as of August 2023 is below. Organization Contact Web Site 4-H Foundation Meg McDermott https://ag.umass.edu/mass4h Berkshire Grown Inc. Ian Brunell www.berkshiregrown.org Cape Cod Community Development Partnership Tricia Murray www.capecdp.org Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association Emma Wick www.cranberries.org/ Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) Jen Smith www.buylocalfood.org Land for Good Jae Silverman www.landforgood.org MNLA (MA Nursery and Landscape Association) Rena Summer www.mnla.com Multicultural Bridge Gwendolyn Van Sant www.multiculturalbridge.org New Entry Sustainable Farming Project Jennifer Hashley https://nesfp.nutrition.tufts.edu/# Seeds of Solidarity Farm and Education Center Dr. Deborah Leta Habib www.seedsofsolidarity.org SEMAP Shannon Hickey/Susan Murray www.semaponline.org South Coast Food Council Christine Smith www.marioninstitute.org/programs/sfpc/ The Food Project Maritza Rosario www.thefoodproject.org/ UMass Extension Lisa McKeag What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continue to engage with stakeholders as part of the development of the Peer Support Network. Buildout the Peer Support Network across the state. Onboard a behavioral health specialist to provide one-on-one services to the farming community.

IMPACT: 2022/09 TO 2023/08
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: Peer Support Training for Farmers, State Staff, Sub-Contractors and Service Providers MDAR collaborated with contractor FarmFirst Vermont (www.farmfirst.org), for the development of a training curriculum designed for farmers and another training designed for professional staff and partner organizations. The in-person and online peer support training began in January 2023, with four in-person trainings conducted (Southeastern region in Lakeville, MA and eastern region in Southborough, MA). The trainings continued in Topsfield, MA and West Springfield, MA concluding with a Spanish language online training in March, 2023. The training approach was designed to enable attendees to function as peer supports, helping the trainees to: 1) Recognize farmer stress 2) Listen and communicate effectively with a non-judgmental approach 3) De-escalation skills 3) Have the ability to effectively refer available resources Over one hundred attendees statewide participated in the in-person and online training events. Significant Survey and Focus Group Findings The online survey was designed to identify the factors eliciting emotions of stress and the mental health concerns experienced by the Massachusetts farming community and was fielded during September 2022. Another objective of the online survey was to identify the specific resource needs of the Commonwealth's agricultural community and where they find information on the services. After a results analysis, a qualitative online focus group was held in October 2022 to further investigate the prominent responses, review the services reported as useful, the barriers to accessing the services, how and where they would like to receive the services and they best way to reach them. In all, 210 Massachusetts farmers, state staff and partner organization representatives participated in the survey and focus group. The survey was representative of Massachusetts Agriculture and included statewide respondents and included representatives from a wide range of farm roles and products produced. The survey was able to identify the major influences on mental health and well-being and the impact they have on the people participating in Massachusetts agriculture. A significant finding included the desire to "learn about mental health resources and services from family members and friends," and the methods used to address mental health wellbeing. To create the greatest outreach, MDAR requested the survey identify the social media platforms most commonly used to learn about and find mental health services. This information informs the Department's outreach strategy. Program Naming, Logo & Branding To create an awareness and easily remembered program, logo development and program branding were prioritized. Based on survey and focus group responses and seeking alignment with MDAR's existing programs to maintain Department synergy and messaging, the program name was developed and branded as MassGrown Wellness. Based on this research and feedback, the Toolkit contract provided MDAR with several logo designs and after several reviews and ratings, the program logo below was developed and has started to be used on all resource products, including print, web, social media, and MassGrown Wellness's website. Program Overview Videos To further the program's reach, a series of informative videos were recorded featuring Commissioner Ashley Randle addressing key survey and training information. The videos are featured on the Department's YouTube Channel and the MassGrown Wellness web page. The videos were released via social media posts during the month of May, 2023 in recognition of Mental Health Awareness month. Topics addressed: Listen to Learn How to Help a Farmer (And Yourself) - Supporting Wellbeing in Agriculture Listening, De-escalating, and Referring Moving Beyond the Stigma You're Part of a Community (peer groups Veterans, BIPOC, Underserved Communities)

PUBLICATIONS (not previously reported): 2022/09 TO 2023/08
No publications reported this period.