Applications for the Maine Farmer Wellness Fund are now available online and by phone for Maine farmers and farm workers through Sept. 30. 

Made possible through the Maine Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN), individuals can apply for up to $500 to support their wellness needs. Farmer wellness is broadly defined and covers a range of eligible uses including therapy, childcare, acupuncture, massage and traditional healers. Farm workers are defined as anyone involved with agricultural work, including forestry products and aquaculture. 

More information, including application options, is available on the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Maine FRSAN website. Online and phone applications are available in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole. For more information contact Izzy Ruffin at 207.570.8308 or mainefrsan@maine.edu.

This project is funded by the USDA National Institute for Food & Agriculture, awarded to the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry and managed by UMaine Extension. Funds are administered in partnership with the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, Maine Farmland Trust and Mano en Mano. 

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, with a regional campus at the University of Maine at Machias. UMaine is located on Marsh Island in the homeland of the Penobscot Nation. UMaine Machias is located in the homeland of the Passamaquoddy Nation. 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 public research university and a Carnegie R1 top-tier research institution. It attracts students from all 50 states and 81 countries. UMaine currently enrolls 11,989 undergraduate and graduate students, and UMaine Machias enrolls 747 undergraduates. Our students 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. UMaine Machias offers 18 degree programs. 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 and UMaine Machias, visit umaine.edu and machias.edu.