Sunsets, humor, horseback riding and group text chats are just some of the stress-reducing tactics agricultural producers use in their daily lives.
Farmers and ranchers face issues such as extreme weather events, supply-chain shortages and operational difficulties that can affect their livelihoods and businesses. But now, a project aims to tackle mental health challenges and reduce suicide rates in New Mexico’s agricultural communities.
Here to Help New Mexico – established through New Mexico State University’s Southwest Border Food Protection and Emergency Preparedness Center – seeks to enhance existing efforts to increase stress prevention and wellness and health resources available in agricultural communities. NMSU’s Cooperative Extension Service, the New Mexico Department of Agriculture and the New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau joined forces to support the project when it launched in 2022.
“There’s so many uncontrollable risks that are associated with farming. And I don’t think you realize it until your boots are on the ground within the fields,” said Jamie Viramontes, who owns a third-generation farm in Luna County with her husband, Cole Viramontes.
Funding for Here to Help New Mexico comes from the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network via a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
NMSU Extension agents across New Mexico support the program by delivering educational programs directly to communities.
The first step is helping people open up and discuss topics such as behavioral health.
“The collaboration between the three entities has been a good partnership in trying to reach out to all of the folks across the state. We still have a long way to go to be at the forefront of these issues. But definitely, we’re starting to have more and more conversations,” said Tom Dean, co-director of NMSU’s Southwest Border Food Protection and Emergency Preparedness Center.
The center, housed in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, helps protect food supplies against varying threats by providing educational programs, planning and training to ensure community wellness across the Southwest.
“We have to make people feel comfortable that it’s OK not to be OK and to admit that,” said Jeff Witte, secretary of the New Mexico Department of Agriculture. “The greatest thing you can do when you’re visiting with farmers and ranchers is to listen to them – listen to what they’re saying.”
Farmers and ranchers acknowledge the obstacles Here to Help New Mexico is confronting.
“We’re people of land, and we’re full of pride, and if something’s bothering us, we’re not that type to go out and seek help,” said Don Martinez, a seventh-generation rancher in Rio Arriba County. “We’d like to tell our story, but if there’s something just not right, we don’t really share it with our neighbors and friends.”
Craig Ogden, a farmer and rancher in Eddy County, added: “I think the more you hear about it and the more that people are exposed, it’ll open some doors where people won’t have that hesitation either to get some help or talk.”
Cole Viramontes said he found a new connection with peers in an unlikely place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“By putting ourselves out on social media, we were able to meet a lot of other farmers, not just in our area, but across the nation and whole world,” he said. “And the cool thing is, it doesn’t matter where you’re at, the struggles seem to be similar and being able to have somebody to talk to, whether it’s just through a direct message or making silly videos with each other, that really helps a bunch.”
Stress management is another emphasis of Here to Help New Mexico.
“Early prevention is something we need to focus on, and people being aware of stress and taking care of it,” Dean said.
To learn more about Here to Help New Mexico, visit heretohelpnm.com.
A version of this story was first published in the fall 2023 issue of ACES Magazine. For more stories, visit nmsu.news/aces-magazine-fall-2023.
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CUTLINE: Here to Help New Mexico aims to reduce mental health stigma in agricultural communities. It supports producers like Jamie and Cole Viramontes, who own a farm in Luna County. (NMSU photo by Josh Bachman)