News and Press

Fort Valley State hosts 2026 Georgia Farm Stress Summit

by Russell Boone Jr.

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(Left to right) Farmers Connie Baptiste, Handy Kennedy, Lindy Savelle and Kent Hamilton participate in a panel during the Georgia Farm Stress Summit at Fort Valley State on March 12.

 

Farmers, landowners, members of the agricultural community and mental health advocates gathered March 12 at Fort Valley State University (FVSU) to network and build partnerships.

The fifth annual Georgia Farm Stress Summit, held at FVSU’s C.W. Pettigrew Farm and Community Life Center, drew more than 150 participants. The Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center’s (GRHIC) Georgia Agricultural Wellness Alliance (GAWA) sponsored the event.

The Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center is part of Mercer University’s School of Medicine. Members of the Georgia Agricultural Wellness Alliance include the University of Georgia (UGA) Cooperative Extension, UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences, UGA College of Public Health, Georgia Department of Agriculture, Georgia Foundation for Agriculture, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, Georgia Farm Bureau and FVSU Cooperative Extension.

This year’s summit theme, “Deep Roots, Strong Communities: Building Healthy Ag Networks,” emphasized forums and panels focusing on the mental well-being of the farming community.

John McElveen, Ed.D., director of GAWA, said it is critical that farmers have a forum to discuss the factors that make farming stressful.

“Farmers face challenges that are unprecedented in this era. As a group, they are traditionally so self-reliant. They like to help people, but they don’t like to ask for help. A lot of times, that self-reliance is a real asset, but when it comes to their struggles with mental health, farmers become overwhelmed, and they don’t know where to turn,” McElveen said.

Additionally, McElveen said that farmers need to be able to seek help.

“In this day and age, farmers need a lot of help, and they need to know that they are not the only ones going through this (mental stress),” he said. He added that by attending the summit, farmers can benefit from listening and learning from researchers, leaders in agriculture and fellow farmers.

Furthermore, McElveen said farmers at the summit had an opportunity to share their perspective and expertise that can be beneficial to researchers like himself.

“It is a two-way street. The participants are learning, but we’re learning from them, too, in our work,” he noted. He said that by getting information from a farmer’s point of view, the GRHIC can be more effective in coming up with solutions.

Rocio Palomares-Childers, a farmer from Colquitt County, discusses problems farmers face during the Georgia Farm Stress Summit pre-conference.

Rocio Palomares-Childers is the chief executive officer and owner of Harvest Fresh Farms LLC in Moultrie, Georgia. She attended the summit because of her background in mental health and her duties as a full-time farmer.

Furthermore, the Colquitt County farmer said she plans to attend more summits in the future and explained why.

“I believe that we are always hungry and need to eat. The mental health crisis in agriculture keeps getting worse, and this problem is not going away. We need to talk about how we’re going to fix it and change things until we get it right. We need to do this not only for our elderly farmers, but for our young farmers who are coming up,” she said.

Palomares-Childers also discussed stressful situations with fellow farmers and how it’s helpful to her.

“The benefit for me is that I don’t feel alone. When I talk to other people who are having the same issues and dealing with the same things, it makes me feel better knowing that it’s not just me,” she said.

Mark Latimore Jr., Ph.D., FVSU’s associate dean for Extension, explained how Cooperative Extension’s relationship with the GAWA will help farmers.

“It’s an honor and a privilege to have a positive relationship with the Georgia Agricultural Wellness Alliance, thanks to the efforts of ChaNae’ Bradley working with Mercer University’s School of Medicine and John McElveen. What we’re trying to do through our Extension program is inform farmers of outlets available for them when they feel stressed,” Latimore said. 

Additionally, Latimore said the summit presented an opportunity for FVSU county agents to become familiar with key state agencies and contacts needed when farmers request assistance with mental health and stress. “This is beneficial for our county agents and the Extension program as a whole for our outreach efforts in rural Georgia,” Latimore said.

In addition, ChaNae’ Bradley, Ph.D., FVSU’s assistant administrator for community development and outreach, served as co-chair of the 2026 Georgia Farm Stress Summit planning committee. Bradley said she was excited to see Fort Valley host the summit and engage FVSU Extension and College of Agriculture, Family Sciences and Technology faculty with this topic, as well as members of the community.

“I had a vision to host the summit on campus after attending it in Statesboro in 2025,” she said. “It’s rewarding to see it come to fruition with additional programming like the pre-conference and farm tour. This work is important. People are in need, and professionals in agriculture and behavioral health are committed to providing resources and solutions. I look forward to continuing this work in my new role in Extension.”

For more information about GAWA and the services provided, contact McElveen at mcelveen_j@mercer.edu.

 

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• Categories:
• FVSU Agriculture College

• Tags:
• Extension

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