From healthcare providers and nonprofits to county officials and faith leaders, the 2025 Farm Stress Summit welcomes all who want to further their efforts in combatting farm stress within our communities. Our goal is to learn from each other, connect communities with existing resources and establish partnerships across organizations.
UGA Extension is proud to partner with the following organizations to make this event possible:
As a bonus, attendance of this event offers up to 2.5 CEU contact hours for social workers.
REGISTER ONLINE
Download the 2025 Agenda
Speakers
Speakers will focus on farm family health and wellness, including strategies for enhancing collaborations at the local, state and national level to cohesively support farm families as well as proven and emerging practices for combatting farmer mental health challenges.
Breakout sessions will focus on identifying and leveraging existing community resources and natural supports as well as developing a list of relevant needs.
Keynote Speaker
Connie Baptiste, Owner of Hunter Family Farm and 2023 Woman Veteran of the Year
Featured Speakers
- Mike Toews, Associate Dean, UGA Extension
- Allisen Penn, Associate Dean for Extension & Outreach, UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences
- Tyler Harper, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Agriculture
- Kevin Tanner, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD)
- Venessa Sims, Director of Outreach Law Enforcement and Emergency Management, Georgia Department of Agriculture
- John McElveen, Director, Georgia Agricultural Wellness Alliance
- Jean Sumner, Dean, Mercer School of Medicine
Afternoon Workshops
Supporting Best Practices in Suicide Prevention and Postvention
Workshop leaders:
COMET Training: Peer-led group discussion and implementation
Workshop leader:
Panels and Tabletops
Advocacy Panel
Panel Moderator: Anna Scheyett, Professor, Agricultural Leadership Education and Communication, UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
- Jeff Breedlove, Strategic Policy Advisor, Georgia Council for Recovery and the Georgia Addiction Counselors Association
- Laurisa Guerrero, Executive Director, Georgia Council for Recovery
- Kim Jones, Executive Director, Georgia NAMI
Post-Disaster Recovery Group Tabletop
Tabletop facilitator: Diane Bales, Professor, Extension Human Development Specialist, and Child Life Program Director, UGA
Group facilitators:
- Venessa Sims, Director of Outreach Law Enforcement and Emergency Management, Georgia Department of Agriculture
- Kalie Burke, Disaster Mental Health Coordinator, DBHDD
- Jeannette David, Clinical Assistant Professor, UGA Institute for Disaster Management
- Travis Mountain, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist, UGA
- Veronica McClendon, CEO, McClendon Law and Consulting
Marketing Materials
Interested in sharing this event with your network? Use our social media kit.
Support Rural Farmers: 2023 Farm Stress Summit
March 20, 2023 - Macon, Georgia
From healthcare providers and nonprofits to county officials and faith leaders, the 2023 Farm Stress Summit welcomes all who want to further their efforts in combatting farm stress within our communities. Our goal is to learn from each other, connect communities with existing resources and establish partnerships across organizations.
As a bonus, attendance of this event offers up to 2.5 CEU contact hours for social workers.
Register online before March 17.
Farm Stress Summit Agenda (PDF)
Speakers
Speakers will focus on farm family health and wellness, including strategies for enhancing collaborations at the local, state and national level to cohesively support farm families as well as proven and emerging practices for combatting farmer mental health challenges.
Breakout sessions will focus on identifying and leveraging existing community resources and natural supports as well as developing a list of relevant needs.
Download the speaker bios or read about them below:
Keynote Speaker
Marshal Sewell, Strategic Account & Partnerships Manager, Bayer Crop Science; Founder, 'Mind Your Melon'
Featured Speakers
- Kevin Tanner, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities
- Stephanie Basey, PhD Student, Rural Health Sciences Program, Mercer University School of Medicine
- Tyler Harper, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Agriculture
- Anna Scheyett, Professor, University of Georgia School of Social Work
- Jennifer Dunn, Southwest Area Health Agent, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension
- Christina Proctor, Health Promotion & Behavior Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Georgia College of Public Health
Marketing Materials
Interested in sharing this event with your network? Check out the social media kit and download the promotional flyer.
2022 Event Recap
Slide Presentations
Downloads available in PDF format:
Questions? Contact conference co-chairs Lucy Ray and Maria Bowie.
This work is supported by the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network- Georgia Farmer Healthy Mindset [grant no. 13395431/2021-09304/ project ascension no 2021-70035575], from the US Department of Agriculture, National Institute on of Food and Agriculture. Any opinion, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and short not be construed to represent any official (USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy).
