February 1, 2024 ····· ··············································Vol. 1, Issue 4

Applied Research at SAgE

In order for SAgE—and the other three Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network regions—to effectively address farm stress, research is essential to discover the best methods to tackle it. Dr. Andy Smolski, SAgE’s Director of Applied Research, explains why applied research in particular is the type of research that’s needed to find solutions that can be put to work right away:


There’s a big distinction between what would be called basic research and applied research. We are not doing basic research. For instance, we are not trying to figure out generally how social systems operate or whether some fundamental or particular part is generalizable to a whole system.


What we are asking are applied questions about a very specific population or populations— farmers, ranchers, and farm workers—and then segmenting those populations even further, to ask things like, does social support provide some kind of benefit for farmers in terms of how they navigate farm stress and in terms of the outcomes? This is not to disparage basic research at all, but we want to convert our professional knowledge from these disciplines into usable tools that practitioners, extension workers, and farmers can can utilize for their own benefit.


The top-level work of FRSAN and its regional divisions is the delivery of resources and training to alleviate stress. The functional pieces of the work—the website, the hotline, the resource directory, partnership building, and applied research—are in support of that larger goal.

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SAgE Resources


The SAgE resource database is at the heart of what we do as we focus on alleviating farm stressors on a variety of fronts—from health care, to animal care, crops to cash flow, tax guidance, finances, and much more. Our resources team is hard at work adding new resources all the time. Don't see your state listed here? Keep your eye on this space, or head to our website. If you’d like to recommend a resource, you can do that here.



Arkansas

Florida

Georgia

Kentucky

Mississippi

North Carolina

Tennessee

Submit Resources Here

SAgE Webinar

Taking Stock: Targeted and Tailored Suicide Prevention

Title: Taking Stock: Targeted and Tailored Suicide Prevention with Dr. Lia Bryant

Date: February 19th

Time: 5:00 p.m. EST/4:00 p.m. CST

Summary: A presentation on the outcomes of a 4-year national Australian study that focused on tailoring and targeting early suicide prevention strategies to men in farming. The latest project by Dr. Bryant on women, wellbeing, and farming will also be briefly discussed. 

Register now!

The SAgE Applied Research Webinar Series brings in researchers, practitioners, and farmers to discuss topics important for understanding and addressing farm stress. 

Click here if you'd like to submit a SAgE Webinar for consideration.

News from the Ag World

2024 National Ag Day Video Essay Contest announced


On March 19, 2024, producers, agricultural associations, corporations, universities, government agencies, and countless others across America will join together to recognize the contributions of agriculture on the 51st anniversary of National Ag Day.

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A Lifetime of Leadership and Longleaf Conservation

Herbert Hodges' family’s farm is an environment where longleaf pine forests and wildlife species can thrive. Named after his father, the Willie Hodges Family Farm Estate is made up of a collective 600-acres, land that has been in the Hodges family since the 1880s. (Photo courtesy of Tiffany Woods, National Wildlife Federation)

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The Farmers Leaning On Each Other’s Tools


Next to land, equipment is a farmer’s biggest investment. While farm equipment collectives are still relatively rare in the U.S., they tend to share a similar origin story: Farmers begin informally swapping farm equipment to ease costs, building a sense of trust. (Photo courtesy of Nathanael Gonzales-Siemens) Read more

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