She will lead efforts to increase mental health awareness and work with stakeholders to develop AgTalk
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Megz Reynolds has had a busy month of March.
On March 8, the former Saskatchewan grain farmer, mental health advocate and overall ag industry voice was hired as the Do More Agriculture Foundation’s new executive director, replacing Adelle Stewart.
Reynolds has been involved with Do More Ag behind the scenes since its inception in 2018.
When a search for a new executive director didn’t return any possible candidates over the last six months, reps with Do More Ag approached Reynolds about the opportunity.
“With my advocacy on mental health over the years it seemed like a great fit for myself and the foundation,” she told Farms.com. “I’m very excited.”
As the new executive director, Reynolds will have multiple responsibilities.
They include managing staff, creating awareness campaigns to utilize donation dollars, and securing more fundraising support to help deliver more courses and projects.
One project Reynolds and the Do More Ag staff is working on is AgTalk, a 24/7, bilingual, ag specific mental health support line for Canadian producers and their families.
“We’re flushing out the details and then we’ll be engaging with stakeholders at provincial and federal levels about how to bring this to Canadian farmers,” she said.
For Reynolds, being at the intersection of mental health and agriculture isn’t only where she works.
It’s where she’s lived too and witnessed how mental health can affect someone in the ag community.
“I moved to a grain farm when I was 26-years-old and I experienced everything first-hand,” she said. “The stress and the anxiety that comes with not being able to control certain things, you live where you work and there can be multigenerational pressure. I’ve seen the challenges that come out of unhealthy coping mechanisms.”
One thing Reynolds has noticed over the years is farmers everywhere need mental health support.
She’s spoken at Global Farmer Network events and is part of a group chat with producers from around the globe.
“One of the main things in our group chat over the past month has been what’s going on in Ukraine, what it means for their farmers and what it means for our world,” she said. “Whether it’s influencing prices now, or food security for a lot of people and the amount of wheat going into the global marketplace.”
In addition to beginning her new position with Do More Ag, Reynolds was also named a mentor in the Next Gen Agriculture Mentorship Program on March 22.
This program, funded through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, matches eight young leaders in Saskatchewan agriculture with mentors for 18 months.
“I was honoured to ask to be part of this program,” Reynolds said. “I’m a big believer of opening doors for other people. I’ve been lucky to have mentors in my own life and I hope I can help others the way my mentors have helped me.”
Reynolds is paired with a young producer named Chelsey Mitchell.
The two have yet to meet, but the two share an interest in mental health.
“She wants to incorporate mental health and those conversations with her farm,” Reynolds said. “I’m very excited to meet her and spend the next 18 months learning from her and with her. From what I understand mental health is a big topic among all the mentees this year.”
Farms.com has compiled a list of provincial mental health resources.