You are here

The PROMISE Initiative

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

News

Screenshot of David Gilmer.
June 26, 2024

RAYMOND, Miss. -- Longtime dairy farmers David and Will Gilmer made the tough decision six years ago to get out of the dairy cattle business. The father-and-son team decided to transition their farm to beef cattle. However, the beef cattle business comes with its own stressful challenges.

A veterinarian loads a syringe with medication for an animal.
June 18, 2024

Dr. Kim Klunk expected a certain level of stress when she began practicing veterinary medicine two years ago near her hometown of Magnolia, Mississippi. “It’s one of those things that you hear other people talk about when you’re in vet school, but you don’t realize the complexity of all of it until you experience it yourself,” said Klunk, who works with her mother Dr. Rachel Bateman at her mixed-animal clinic in McComb. It’s a common realization for many veterinarians who deal daily with financial concerns, work-life balance, compassion fatigue and client relationships among other stressful challenges of the profession.

Two men are photographed outdoors.
June 11, 2024

While every job has stress points, few people go to work knowing they could lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in any given day. That is a reality for many in the agricultural sector, and mental health struggles are a frequent result.

Success Stories

A woman standing beside the window of a house that has a sign with “Venisha’s Home” listed on it.
Volume 10 Number 2

In Rolling Fork, the Mississippi town in Sharkey County devastated by a twister on March 24, 2023, despair was not an option.

A man and woman standing in front of steps, smiling.
Volume 9 Number 1

When Kathryn Reed saw that young people in her community needed more opportunities to participate in activities to help them grow spiritually and personally, she took action.

“We have a lot of activities for adults in our community, but there was nothing for our pre-teens and teenagers,” explains Kathryn. “We are losing them when they get to that age.”

A man gazes off to the left as the sun sets behind him and two cows look at him from the opposite side of the fence he is leaning on.
Volume 8 Number 1

Extension destigmatizes mental health issues, one conversation at a time

When Colby Hardin first started working at the Arkansas Department of Corrections dairy farm, he prepared as if going to war.

 

Select Your County Office