To the farmers, ranchers, and ag families across the Dakotas-Minnesota Episcopal Area and all who love them:

Grace and peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ, who knew the language of seed and soil, sheep and shepherd, sowing and harvest.

I miss the harvest rhythm of western Iowa. My faith journey began in Crawford County, and some part of me still keeps time by the seasons there: the hum of the combine at dusk, dust hanging in the late light, trucks lined up at the elevator, supper carried out to the field.

Now, as I travel across the Dakotas and Minnesota, I see that rhythm everywhere. Beet piles rising in the Red River Valley. Wheat and sunflowers across North and South Dakota. Wild rice gathered from northern Minnesota waters and grain coming off northern fields. Cattle coming home from summer pasture across our region. Corn and soybean fields stretching across southern Minnesota, with lights of farm equipment moving through the darkness long after most of us are asleep.

And I also know these are not easy days.

Costs are high. Markets are uncertain. Drought and changing weather have taken their toll. Decisions about land, livestock, debt, succession, and the future carry real weight. For some, this harvest comes with gratitude. For others, disappointment. For many, both.

I want you to know that your United Methodist family is paying attention.

Your church sees you. We give thanks for you. We are praying for you.

I also want to express my deep appreciation for your hard work and loyal labor. Day after day, season after season, you rise to responsibilities that demand patience, courage, skill, and sacrifice. You care for the land and animals entrusted to you, provide for your families and communities, and help sustain life far beyond the places where you live and work. Your labor is often unseen, but it is never unnoticed or unvalued. Thank you for the faithfulness with which you continue this work.

Scripture tells us that God placed humanity in the garden “to till it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). There is something sacred in tending what God has entrusted to us. Every field harvested, every animal tended, every fence mended, every meal carried to someone working late participates in the work of sustaining life.

And when the work becomes heavy, hear again the invitation of Jesus: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Farming and ranching can be lonely and isolating work. Long hours, uncertainty, financial pressures, and the weight of responsibility can take a toll on mental health and well-being. We want you to know that your church is paying attention. You are not alone, and you do not have to carry every burden by yourself.

To our congregations across the Dakotas and Minnesota: pay attention to the farmers and ranchers among you. Pray for them by name. Check in. Take a meal. Sit over coffee. Notice who has become quiet or withdrawn. Learn the signs of farm stress. Be the kind of church where someone can say, “This is hard,” without having to pretend otherwise.

As harvest continues, I am praying for your safety and security, for your families and livelihoods, and for the land and animals entrusted to your care.

May God watch over your fields, your herds, your homes, and your families. May Christ meet you in both abundance and uncertainty. And may the Holy Spirit bind us together so that no one carries the harvest alone.

Let us pray:

God of seedtime and harvest,
bless those who work the land.

Keep safe those who rise before the sun
and return home long after it has set.

Bless the harvest gathered in
and hold tenderly the disappointment of when the expense is higher than the earning.

Where the numbers do not add up, give wisdom.
Where uncertainty presses hard, give courage.
Where bodies are weary, give rest.
Where spirits are burdened, send companions.

Protect those working machinery, hauling grain, tending livestock, and traveling tired roads.

Bless the land, the animals, the families, and the communities that depend upon them.

And remind us that those who feed the world should never feel forgotten by it.

God of every season, make us faithful stewards of what you have entrusted to us, good neighbors to one another, and people who trust your presence in planting, in harvest, and in all that lies between.

In the name of Jesus Christ,
the Sower and the Good Shepherd. Amen.

With gratitude and prayer, 

Bishop Lanette Plambeck
Resident Bishop
Dakotas-Minnesota Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church

Rural Dakota-Minnesota Farmer Resources

Information Sites and Ideas for Church Partnerships

Resources

Farm Stress

North Central Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Center

From website:  We want to make sure that you, your family, and the people you work with have access to the resources needed, when they are needed. We believe in working together to cultivate rural supports, mental health resources, and community to help farmers, ranchers, and other agriculture workers as they navigate increasing stress.

American Farm Bureau

Farm State of Mind page includes resources, tips, peer-peer support, research, training.

Farm to Farm Services

Farm to Farm Services

Offers specialized farm-to-farm telehealth and counseling services with providers who have agricultural backgrounds.

From website:  We believe that farm-related stress and struggles can be overcome. Our counselors relate to you on a deeper level and can help you find a way forward.

Together All - https://togetherall.com/en-us/

Website:  An anonymous community for your mental health, available 24/7. Free through many universities, colleges, employers and employee assistance programs.  Safe, clinically moderated, digital peer-to-peer support. Instantly accessible mental health support whenever and wherever it’s needed. 

Upper Midwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center (UMASH)

Resources for stress, suicide, and mental health conditions

North Dakota State University (NDSU) Extension

Farm and Ranch Stress page provides contact information, fact sheets, articles, and stress management tools, some in Spanish.

South Dakota State University (SDSU) Extension

SDSU Extension Farm Stress Assistance - community education resources like Mental Health First Aid and QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) suicide prevention training.  Also:

Avera Health Farm Stress Hotline

Ideas for United Methodist church partnering

Ideas could be grant requests in either Dakotas or Minnesota.

1. Launch a Community-Wide 'Care Campaign'

Churches can replicate successful, peer-vetted local frameworks to address agricultural mental health stigma.

• Example:  'Moody County Cares' Model

Started by Alan Blankenfeld, the Moody County Cares framework trains congregations and community members to encourage farmers to break through a farmer's "proud reserve,” and talk about market and weather stresses before a mental health crisis peaks.

2. Host Facilitated Conversations

Bring mental health professionals and farm families together to facilitate conversation on topics relevant to the struggles for rural farmers (e.g. financial stress, family stress, etc.)

• Example: Host Suicide Prevention Classes: Connect with the NDSU or SDSU Extension offices or Minnesota Agriculture Mental Health Specialists to have representatives teach community courses like QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) or Mental Health First Aid at the church.

3. Implement Low-Barrier Tailgate & Field Ministry

Help break barriers to walking into a public building or church office where neighbors might spot their parked vehicle , the church can go to them.

• "Show Up" Visits: ministry of lay leaders to quietly visit farmers on their own terms out in the fields, equipment sheds, or local grain elevators.
• Harvest Tailgate Meals: organize volunteers to drive out to fields during peak planting or harvest seasons, bringing meals and a listening ear directly to the tractor side.

4. Host Ag-Specific Resource & Financial Seminars

Provide space for practical education to support farmers experiencing severe stress.

• Farm Transition Workshops - Partner with professionals to host workshops navigating the complex stress of passing a family farm to the next generation.
• Related article on clergy training for farmer suicide prevention, 2023
• Financial Stewardship Nights - Use financial ministry grants to offer low-pressure financial literacy courses.
• Ag Resource Nights - Partners with professional and/or printed literature for facilitated conversations for farming families.  Printed literature could be from organizations like Farm Aid, which maintains a comprehensive Farmer Resource Network directory covering legal aid and disaster assistance or any resources names above.

Practical Tips for Supporting Farmers

• Acknowledge the lack of control: Validate that weather, market crashes, and equipment breakdowns are outside anyone's direct control.
• Watch for warning signs: Look out for uncharacteristic anger, withdrawal from family, chronic fatigue, loss of focus, or changes in drinking habits.
• Break the stigma: Emphasize that seeking help is a sign of practical problem-solving and long-term business management, not weakness.
• Focus on small steps: Suggest focusing only on what can be managed today rather than trying to fix the entire operation at once.