By Eric Jenks, Special to NEAFA
As Covid-19 restrictions continue to lift, NEAFA is excited for our 2021 Annual Meeting at the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, NY from August 30-31, with the Golf for Good Works Tournament directly following it on September 1st, 2021. The meeting has numerous speakers and presenters, including a presentation on common ground between the American Academy of Bovine Practitioners and NEAFA by AABP President Carie Telgen, DVM, a commodity markets update and outlook from Chris Wolf, Ph.D. of Cornell University, and a panel discussion on animal agriculture’s role in addressing climate change that will be moderated by Tom Overton, Ph.D. of Cornell PRO-DAIRY, with Curt Gooch of Dairy Management, Inc., and Jon Patterson of Patterson Farms participating.
The afternoon features two breakout sessions. Safety: For the Employee, the Animal, and the Consumer, is led by Gary Huddleston of AFIA, and Barbara Simeon of Co-Operative Feed Dealers, Inc. According to Huddleston, “this breakout session is geared toward producers of animal food. It will be an overview of OSHA employee safety programs as well as Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)food safety requirements applicable to animal food manufacturers. There are several required written safety programs with specific training requirements designed to keep workers safe that are applicable to animal food production. These requirements will be briefly discussed as a recommended safety program for facilities. FSMA has changed how we manufacture animal food today to keep it safe for the animal as well as keeping our human food supply safe. FSMA regulatory requirements for animal food production will be explained. After two brief presentations that give an overview of both topics, we will have a panel discussion and take questions from the audience.”
The second breakout session is by Kate Downes, the Outreach Director at NY Farmnet, and is entitled “Mind Yourself: Managing Stress in Uncertain Times.” For those unfamiliar with NY FarmNet, the organization is a program based at Cornell University, and supported by New York State. NY FarmNet provides free and confidential counseling for both business and personal needs of farmers, farm families, and agricultural service providers. “We’re well known for our crisis work with farms in financial trouble or farmers dealing with depression, but we do a lot of proactive work as well for farms that are entering a period of transition,” said Downes. “We send both financial and family consultants to farms, because quite often there’s underlying family tension when a business is having financial issues. They’re really intricately connected, and people don’t always realize that. When we send a team to a farm, they’ll get a consultant who is familiar with farm business management, and a family consultant who can work through interpersonal problems there. It’s why we’re successful in helping farms survive and thrive.”
Downes has worked with NY FarmNet for 5 years now, coordinating the training for NY FarmNet’s consultants, advocating for funding, as well as giving presentations at trade shows and events throughout the state. “I was working at Cornell for another program, and I needed a change,” said Downes. “I had lost my uncle to suicide, and looking at what NY FarmNet does, I was like oh my gosh this is so important. Joining this team ended up being a really good fit for me.” At the upcoming annual meeting, Downes is going to focus on stress management and what that means. “I want to talk about stress on the farm, what the signs of stress look like and how to talk about stress with people. My goal is to just give people the language that they may not have, so that they can talk about stress and how to ask for help. It’s important to know how to approach that conversation and how to manage stress through different techniques like deep breathing and mindfulness. Farm stress is not an easy thing to talk about, and we need to talk about suicide to destigmatize it. One reason people don’t ask for help is that they’re embarrassed, and I want to let them know they don’t have to be.”
“NY FarmNet is available 24/7, 365 days a year. If you call you will always get a real person on the other end - you don’t have to navigate a menu or anything to talk with someone. We all need to work together and support each other.” You can reach NY FarmNet at 1-800-547-3276 or fill out the contact form at www.nyfarmnet.org. If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available. The National Suicide Prevention hotline is 1-800-273-8255, or the crisis text line is 741741, just text HOME. For those under 18 in need of help, they can also call the Kids Help Phone at 1 800-668-6868.