June 5, 2018

Imagining a Culture of Inclusivity and Communication... 

And how Bayer CropScience partnership with The Do More Agriculture Foundation is bringing these imaginings to life.

“Break the stigma”, we all say when it comes to mental health. But what does that really mean? To break the stigma is not just putting a bandaid over the conversation of mental health and mental illness. Breaking the stigma means changing the culture around mental health. Breaking the stigma is about honesty, compassion, courage, open-mindedness and connection. Breaking stigma is not for the faint of heart, but for the fierce hearted. The ones whom have lived with or watched a loved one live with a mental health issue or mental illness. Individually we can do some, but collectively we can do a lot. This is why we are proud to be partnered with Bayer CropScience and we are ready to do a lot! We are ready to break the stigma. The stigma that keeps people silent and lonely, isolated and lost. We are here to open doors of opportunity and to extend the reach of services beyond our current borders so that more people can get help sooner.

We are with so much hope. Around the world, alternative model’s offer potential solutions. For example, in response to the staggering rates of mental illness in Zimbabwe, a team out of Harare has taken to equipping the grandmothers of local communities with basic counselling skills to support their community members with coping skills. In 2014, 45% of the world's population lived in a country where there was less than one psychiatrist to serve 100 000 people. Globally, there were 7.7 nurses working in mental health per 100 000 population. (World Health Organization) Treatment models that involve the community help to eradicate stigma and empower community members to be active listeners that could help recognize early signs of mental illness and offer support before it is too late.

It seems apparent that while there is a long way to go, there are global initiatives and practices that provide us with hope. We hope that we too, are one of those movements. Around the world and here at home, alternative solutions to building community and connection as treatment for isolation and loneliness continue to expand. These could indeed lead us towards eradicating the stigma surrounding mental health and in turn create open communication. We see the call to action, and the potential for this much needed shift. We are standing in an era of great pain, but also of great hope.

Here are the Do More Agriculture Foundation it is our mission to be apart of that cultural shift. We recently announced our exciting partnership with Bayer CropScience and we are so excited to bring to you our first collaboration. We know that suicide rates are higher among producers than any occupation, and yet, it is not something that many producers, or anyone else really talks about. Well we are going to talk about it! Do More Ag and Bayer CropScience present to you ‘The Not-So-Silent Auction’. In order to shift the culture, we need to engage our community, our industry, and what better way to get us all talking than through a historic tradition of the Ag community; an auction. Bayer CropScience has three of their most sought after products up for bid and all money raised will go directly to Do More Ag for creating awareness and resources for mental health in Agriculture. The auction will run from June 11, 8:00am CST till June 15, 5:00pm CST. Let’s keep talking, sharing and bidding to bring our visions of a world that works for everyone to live. Let’s start here, let’s start now. For more information or to join the auction please visit https://www.32auctions.com/DoMoreAg.