Upcoming dinner to educate on farming mental health issues
Dec. 8—Local students will have a chance to showcase their artistic skills while also learning — and spreading awareness — about rural and farm mental health during the Farmers' Dinner Theater slated for Dec. 15 at the RiverPark Center.
The event, which is a partnership between the University of Kentucky's colleges of agriculture, food and environment and nursing, will feature students acting out skits that pertain to farmer safety and mental health wellness. It was created as a nontraditional way to educate farmers about occupational health and safety risks, according to the University of Kentucky.
According to UK, 112 out of Kentucky's 120 counties are considered "medically underserved." The Farmers' Dinner Theater program is designed to change lives for the better and to shed some light on a topic that is rarely discussed. Students also will receive what is referred to as QPR training, which stands for question, persuade and refer. That ideally will help those students identify and assist when someone is struggling and needs additional resources.
Logan and Warren counties hosted this event in July, and now Daviess and Henderson counties will host it together. Students from Henderson County, Daviess County and Apollo high schools will participate. This weekend those students have been invited to a retreat camp where they will learn the skit materials and all of the information pertaining to mental health safety and awareness that will be showcased during the dinner.
Owensboro Catholic High School students were also invited to attend, but due to high COVID-19 numbers, they will not be in attendance, said OCHS agriculture educator Erica Tapp.
Tapp said she had every intention of sending students to the event, if it weren't for the pandemic. An event like this is important for students and the farming community.
"I think that this is a very good opportunity not only for the students, but for the public as well," Tapp said. "Farmer suicide is not really anything people have heard about or think about. They just see the combines in the field and think about how simple their lives must be. They don't think about the fact that feeding the world is on these farmers' shoulders."
Jason Smith, Daviess County High School agriculture teacher, said this event will be a unique way of highlighting the stressors and environmental concerns that rural America faces right now.
This is good, he said, because those in attendance will hopefully leave with helpful information they can then share with others in their farming and rural communities.
"It also involves students and engages them in a different way that will help to spread this important message," he said.
Clint Hardy, Kentucky cooperative extension agency of Daviess County, said there is a lot of stress that pertains to production agriculture and is associated with family farms. The program will involve students acting out skits and addressing for the crowd how to manage those stressful situations.
Gaining skills like this are important for young people, because they are the future and they can help to spread the message to a wider audience, Hardy said.
The event is free and open to the public, Hardy said, because organizers want as many people as possible to be in attendance to learn the valuable information.
Farmers' Dinner Theater begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Jody Berry Theater in the RiverPark Center at 101 Daviess St. A holiday-themed meal will be served.
For more information or to RSVP call the Daviess County Extension Office at 270-685-8480.
Bobbie Hayse, bhayse@messenger-inquirer.com, 270-691-7315
