Conferences
Empowering Farmers with Stress Management and Risk Mitigation Strategies During a Drought
Alexandria Smith, Jodi Richmond, Brandy Brabham, Lisa Jones, Emily Morrow, and James Barrett
Summary
Summer 2024, West Virginia experienced record drought and declared a state of emergency. Producers spent hours hauling water daily and fed hay 5-6 months early. This stress caused some farmers to completely sell out because they saw no end to drought conditions.
WVU Extension knew we needed to provide outreach to these producers with a two-fold strategy. We met weekly with critical stakeholders such as USDA funding bodies, WV Department of Agriculture, and the WV Conservation Agency. We put together a list of resources, an outreach plan, and engaged in media promotion. The outreach plan included in-person meetings with funding and support agencies in regions across the state. Then, we hosted a 4-part webinar series with over 750 views/active attendance. The topics were meant to give farmers tools to get through ongoing or future droughts. Education is a pillar in stress management.
Stress management is not a topic typically attended as a stand-alone event by farmers, but each drought-related meeting included a stress management segment. After the meetings, we had several farmers called and thanked us for reminding them they were not alone in this devastating weather event.
As a result of these meetings and all the agencies pulling together, FSA reported an influx in new producer signups and has paid over $24 million to producers. The WV Department of Agriculture was able to allocate 10 million dollars to complement FSA programs, and NRCS is putting up more weather stations around the state to better monitor the weather.
Details
| Conference | 2025 Extension Risk Management Education National Conference |
| Presentation Type | Poster |