RICHMOND (WINA) – As we head toward May as Mental Health Awareness Month… the American Farm Bureau is promoting mental health in rural communities. During May, Farm Bureau is challenging members to reach out to friends, neighbors and fellow farmers by sending a text or note, or calling to check on them.

Laura Siegel with AgriSafe tells the Virginia Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers’ podcast of a hotline they have that farmers can call if they need some sort of mental health help. She says it’s a crisis support line for people who work in and live around agriculture. Callers can speak to someone to help find resources, or just ask general questions about mental health. And the person who answers the phone has knowledge of the agricultural pressures that go on in people’s lives. For instance, inflation affecting their costs are a big stresser in agriculture today.

That number is 833-897-2474.

Click here for a Farm State of Mind webpage with resources from the American Farm Bureau.