University of Maine Cooperative Extension is now offering free online farm coaching, help with stress management and communication, and problem-solving on the farm and within families.  

Farm Coaching: Supporting Relationships for Farm Success features resources for stress reduction, improved communication and family well-being, including weekly “Small Bites” — short articles on practical ideas. The farm-coaching team includes UMaine Extension human resources specialist Leslie Forstadt and Extension educator Tori Jackson; Polly Shyka, co-owner of Villageside Farm, Freedom; Abby Sadauckas, co-owner of Apple Creek Farm, Bowdoinham; and Karen Groat, executive director, Family and Community Mediation, Scarborough.

Farm coaching is offered free of charge and is supported by a grant from Northeast Extension Risk Management Education. For more information, to sign up or request a reasonable accommodation, contact 207.581.3487; leslie.forstadt@maine.edu, or visit the Farm Coaching webpage.

University of Maine Cooperative Extension:
As a trusted resource for over 100 years, University of Maine Cooperative Extension has supported UMaine's land and sea grant public education role by conducting community-driven, research-based programs in every Maine county. UMaine Extension helps support, sustain and grow the food-based economy. It is the only entity in our state that touches every aspect of the Maine Food System, where policy, research, production, processing, commerce, nutrition, and food security and safety are integral and interrelated. UMaine Extension also conducts the most successful out-of-school youth educational program in Maine through 4-H.

About the University of Maine:
The University of Maine, founded in Orono in 1865, is the state's land grant, sea grant and space grant university. As Maine's flagship public university, UMaine has a statewide mission of teaching, research and economic development, and community service. UMaine is the state's only public research university and among the most comprehensive higher education institutions in the Northeast. It attracts students from all 50 states and more than 70 countries. UMaine currently enrolls 11,561 undergraduate and graduate students who have opportunities to participate in groundbreaking research with world-class scholars. UMaine offers more than 100 degree programs through which students can earn master's, doctoral or professional science master's degrees, as well as graduate certificates. The university promotes environmental stewardship, with substantial efforts campuswide to conserve energy, recycle and adhere to green building standards in new construction. For more information about UMaine, visit umaine.edu.