Project Name: In the Know workshop

Project summary and highlights:

The Oxford County Federation of Agriculture partnered with Oxford County Junior Farmers hosted an In The Know Mental Health Workshop. The event took place in Mt. Elgin from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. with 10 people and 2 facilitators from CMHA. It had been a few years since OCFA had offered this workshop.

Use of funds and partner contributions besides the Federation:

The Oxford Junior Farmers provided in kind contributions in the form of promotion to reach a younger demographic that what the OCFA would normally reach.

Lasting and relevant impact to the OFA membership:

By OCFA hosting this event it shows our members that we support mental health and choose to promote the wellness of our members and community. The OCFA hosted the pilot for this very successful program in 2019, so it’s great to continue to provide the training.

Lasting and relevant impacts to greater community:

Hosting a wellness workshop open to all members of the community helps to continue and spread awareness of mental health in the agricultural community. Not only farmers and ag workers were in attendance, but also employees and local ag retailers, enabling the message to spread to a wider audience.

Bonus – Lessons learned, or surprises:

We found that reaching out and specifically inviting community members and ag businesses paid off, as some that we reached out to were in attendance.