MACON, Ga.– Georgia farmers, farm family members, agricultural community members and agricultural mental health stakeholders will meet at the fifth annual 2026 Georgia Farm Stress Summit to connect communities with resources and build strong cross-sector partnerships. The event will be held on March 12 at Fort Valley State University’s C.W. Pettigrew Farm and Community Life Center in Fort Valley.
Farm families and farming communities across the state are under considerable pressure as they face challenges in their profession, including extreme weather, low commodity prices, high input costs, commercial development and land encroachment, plant and animal disease, and more. These challenges may result in negative mental health effects, including thoughts of dying by suicide. Access to mental health services in many of the state’s rural areas is limited.
In 2022, researchers with Mercer University School of Medicine’s Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center (GRHIC), led by Anne Montgomery, Ph.D., and her students in the Rural Health Sciences Ph.D. program at the School of Medicine, published a study based on surveys completed by more than 1,600 Georgia farm owners, farm managers, farmworkers and spouses. The survey documented concerning levels of stress, negative coping strategies and suicidal ideation.
The summit’s theme this year is “Deep Roots, Strong Communities: Building Healthy Ag Networks.” It features a keynote address from AgriSafe Network Health Director Tara Haskins, DNP, RN, AHN-BC, and a panel discussion with Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Commissioner Kevin Tanner and Georgia Farm Bureau President Tom McCall.
The event also features a panel of producers who will discuss their firsthand perspectives on the challenges faced by them, their peers and their communities. Informative and interactive breakout sessions include COMET (Changing Our Mental and Emotional Trajectory) training, farm mental health essentials for providers and ag-focused agencies, and heirs’ property.
For the first time, the summit includes preconference activities on March 11, with a two-hour informational discussion and networking session about the latest research related to farm and rural mental health, well-being, substance use disorders and safety.
A tour of Pearson Farm in Fort Valley and a Community Resiliency Model presentation of simple stress-management tools will follow.
The Farm Stress Summit is hosted by GRHIC’s Georgia Agricultural Wellness Alliance and Mercer University School of Medicine. Other members of the alliance include UGA Cooperative Extension of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, UGA College of Public Health, Georgia Farm Bureau, Georgia Foundation for Agriculture, Fort Valley State University Extension, and Georgia Department of Agriculture.
For event details and to register, visit 2026 Georgia Farm Stress Summit Registration. The registration deadline is March 5.
Partners and organizations are welcome to be a part of the summit’s free exhibit area and may register for exhibitor space at 2026 Georgia Farm Stress Summit Registration. The deadline to register as an exhibitor is March 5, and space is limited.
For more information, please contact GAWA Director John McElveen at mcelveen_j@mercer.edu.
About the Georgia Agricultural Wellness Alliance
The Georgia Agricultural Wellness Alliance (GAWA), at Mercer University School of Medicine’s Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center (GRHIC), is a coalition of organizations dedicated to addressing farm health, safety, and well-being in Georgia. The Alliance was established in response to the prevalence of mental health challenges experienced by farm families and communities, which was revealed, in large part, through a joint study conducted by the Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center, led by Anne Montgomery, Ph.D., and students in Mercer University School of Medicine’s Rural Health Sciences Ph.D. program. Founding organizations include the Mercer University School of Medicine’s Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center, the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, the Georgia Department of Agriculture, Georgia Farm Bureau, the Georgia Foundation for Agriculture and University of Georgia’s Cooperative Extension Service. GAWA is funded by the Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center at Mercer University School of Medicine. For more information contact Dr. John McElveen at mcelveen_j@mercer.edu or visit www.gafarmstress.org.
