Shouldn't we treat the people of agriculture with the same care we put into our land and animals? It's time for agriculture to have real conversations about mental health. Michele Payn brings practical tools to help farmers & ranchers understand stress.
Farmers and ranchers face a unique combination of chronic stressors that most people never encounter: financial uncertainty that stretches across generations, weather events that erase a year's work overnight, isolation that comes with the geography of rural life, and the weight of family decisions that carry the names of people who came before you. The loneliness of agriculture isn't a character flaw. It's a feature of the work – and it's costing us lives.
Farmers die by suicide at nearly twice the rate of the general U.S. population. Mental health challenges in agriculture is a global issue: an Australian farmer takes their life every four days, more than 270,000 farmers in India have died by suicide in the last 25 years, and a U.K. farmer commits suicide each week. Michele believes it's time to change that by talking about what really matters in agriculture - the people.
These statistics don't change with a pep talk. Addressing mental health in agriculture requires honest conversation, practical tools, and a speaker who understands where these pressures come from – not just from research, but from living inside the stressors of agriculture. Michele understands you're terrified of losing the business built by generations of your family. Agriculture is a frustrating, exhausting, and overwhelming business - but we are taught to be independent, deal with our problems, and not talk about it.
Michele Payn doesn't flinch and neither does Resiliency for Agriculture. It names the chronic stressors, honors the darkness without dwelling in it, and gives farm families, agricultural organizations, and rural communities a real path through.
Resiliency for Agriculture is for you if...
- Your audience includes farm families, ranchers, or rural community members who are carrying more stress than they're letting on
- Your organization needs a farmer mental health speaker who approaches this topic with both science and lived experience
- You want a program that addresses the real sources of agricultural stress – not just coping mechanisms
- Your audience needs to be challenged to find meaning in life beyond work
- You're ready to normalize mental health conversations in a culture where asking for help still carries stigma
Disclaimer: this is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are in crisis, please visit your local emergency room or call /text 688.
Michele learned resiliency firsthand after her family lost their farm to bankruptcy, experiencing divorce, caring for a love one with cancer, managing the ups & downs of her own business, and having a friend commit suicide. She has spent 15+ years connecting the people and science of food and farming, but has felt called to bring hope, healing, and help to agriculture.
Why rural communities and agricultural organizations trust Michele Payn
Michele Payn, CSP – one of 900 Certified Speaking Professionals worldwide – has spent a lifetime inside the agricultural world. She grew up on a dairy farm, still farms in Indiana today, and has worked with farm families, rural communities, and agricultural organizations across 25+ countries. She writes a stress management column for AgDaily and Progressive Dairy and developed Agriculture's Growth Journal specifically to support the mental wellness of farmers and the people who serve them . She hosts 140+ podcast episodes on the Food Bullying Podcast and authored four award-winning books to connect farm and food. More importantly, she knows how to get through to stubborn farmers and ranchers and have an open conversation about resiliency.
Agriculture's Growth Journal author · 25+ countries · 140+ podcast episodes · Farmer
What Resiliency for Agriculture delivers to your conference
Michele helps ag folks understand they were created as a human, not as a farmer or rancher. She's a speaker with an uncanny ability to connect and will talk through:
- Honest identification of agriculture's chronic stressors – financial, environmental, relational, and generational
- Science-backed resilience tools built specifically for the pressures of farming and ranching life
- A stress management framework that works as a proactive business strategy, not just a crisis response
- Language to reduce the stigma and make it easier to ask for help – and give it
- Practical tools for farm families, rural community leaders, and agricultural organizations to support the people around them
- A personal action plan built around each attendee's specific stressors, strengths, and support systems
What agricultural conference attendees leave with from Resiliency for Agriculture
After this agricultural conference keynote or breakout on hope, healing, and humor, attendees will be able to:
- Identify the chronic stressors specific to agricultural life and recognize them in themselves and others
- Apply a SMART stress management framework as a daily business practice – not just a response to crisis
- Reduce stigma around mental health conversations in their family, operation, and community
- Recognize warning signs in others and know how to respond with compassion and practical support
- Leave with a personal resilience action plan they can use immediately
Available as: Agricultural conference keynote · Workshop · Half-day training · Virtual · Breakout session · Rural community event
Dig deeper into Michele's stress management for agriculture and mental wellness tips
Agriculture's Growth Journal is the take-home tool this program was built around – a science-backed, story-driven guide from professionals and farmers with lived experience. Filled with 56 pages of ideas and inspiration to grow resiliency, the journal vailable as an optional add-on for your event. Learn more →
