Supporting Farm & Ranch Youth Workshop, Jan. 16th

As part of their dedication to supporting farm and ranch families in all facets of life, NDSU Extension will be offering an IVN Workshop focused around mental and behavioral health entitled “Supporting Farm and Ranch Youth Through Understanding and Intervention” January 16th.

Monica Kramer McConkey brings to the table 25 years of experience in behavioral health and personal experience with the unique situations farm/ranch youth experience. She travels throughout the country speaking with groups about emotional stress in agriculture, part of her consulting business Eyes on the Horizon, while also offering mental health outreach to Minnesota farmers and families through the MN Dept. of Agriculture.

In this workshop, McConkey will lead participants through discussions about stressors on communities and families in rural North Dakota, analyze adverse childhood experiences,

review developmental milestones in adolescence and how stress affects emotional and

physical development. The workshop will also explore relationshipbuilding techniques and interventions, identify resources in the community, and demonstrate the use of the emergen

cy response to someone in a suicide crisis: QPR (question, persuade, refer).

NDSU Extension sees and states how important behavioral and men

tal health awareness and education are in North Dakota’s farm/ranch families, and go above and beyond to make sure that such resources are readily available to those who may need

them. This IVN workshop will be on Thursday, January 16th from 1- 4 p.m. Because it is a virtual workshop, different locations across the state have been dedicated as streaming sites. The one closest to us is

City- County Health District, 415 2nd Ave. NE, Valley City. Participants are asked to register by January 14th by calling 845-8518. For more resources about mental health, visit ag.ndsu. edu.