September marks National Suicide Prevention Month.  The farming and ranching Industry leads the world in suicide rates and is nearly double that of other industries, however very little is tracked or discussed here in the United States.  Mental health is a serious issue among farmers and ranchers please take it seriously and don’t be afraid or too proud to talk to someone about it.   Today’s episode of Brands and Barbed Wire provides some practical advice for handling stress, mental wellness and suicide awareness.  Thank you for listening to Brands and Barbed Wire.

On today’s episode of Brands and Barbed Wire we get the opportunity to visit with Michele Payn of Cause Matters.  Michele is a passionate advocate for global agriculture and has worked with farmers and ranchers in more than 25 countries, whether it's growing the farm and food conversation, developing an advocacy strategy, or discussing mental health, Michele connects conversations around the food plate.  I hope you enjoy today’s episode and get some very practical information from today’s guest Michele Payn.  You can find more information at www.causematters.com.

Register for the National Farm Safety & Heath “Protecting Your Brain from Stress” webinar at  https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_06IGV6tCQ5WOoIkmmv2jtg#/registration - it’s free and all registrants will receive a link to the recording.

Michele’s AgDaily column on stress management is at https://www.agdaily.com/writer/michele-payn.

Agriculture’s Growth Journal, filled with 50 tips and challenge questions, is at  https://causematters.com/growthjournal/

Michele’s compilation of mental health resources is at https://causematters.com/mental-health-resources/

Social links are below, and Linkedin is https://www.linkedin.com/in/mpaynspeaker/.

Thanks to today's sponsor Jorgensen Land and Cattle www.jorgensenfarms.com ,  B.R. Cutrer Ranch www.brcutrer.com, Ranch House Designs www.ranchhousedesigns.com and JMAR Genetics  www.jmargenetics.com.