Owning and managing a farm isn’t easy. With all the responsibilities and stress that comes with farm management, sometimes a farmer needs a helping hand. Minnesota provides assistance that farmers can turn to when the stress of their career becomes difficult to manage. Call the Minnesota Farm & Rural Helpline at (833) 600-2670 for free, confidential counseling 24/7. AgCentric is also partnered with Rural Mental Health Specialists Ted Matthews and Monica McConkey.
Ted Matthews
(320) 266-2390
Dedicated to working around the clock to help a growing number of farmers struggling with stress, Ted has decades of history first starting in 1993 as the Director of Mental Health at the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Minnesota. Ted can relate and understand that farming isn’t just an occupation, but a way of life. He continues to see a growing number of farmers seeking counseling, especially in today’s climate with trade wars and a pandemic that compounds the additional stress of farm life.
Monica McConkey
(218) 280-7785
Monica has 25 years of experience in the behavioral health field as a counselor, program supervisor and administrator. Her focus throughout her career has been to increase access to, and remove the stigma often attached to mental health services. Monica grew up on a farm in northwestern Minnesota and has intimate understanding of the dynamics leading to farm stress and its impact on farm families, looking to provide support to farmers and their families as one of two Rural Mental Health Specialists in Minnesota.
Minnesota Department of Agriculture
Minnesota State Agricultural Centers of Excellence
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