By Frank Giles
Specialty crop growers might have heard about the Mind Your Melon mental health awareness campaign as it has gained more attention in recent years. Marshal Sewell and his wife Taylor officially launched Mind Your Melon in May of 2022 during Mental Health Awareness Month.
Movement Takes Shape
Mental health has been a passion for Sewell since 2007 when his father took his life after a disastrous strawberry crop failure hit his family’s farm in Plant City, Florida. Sewell was only a senior in high school when his father committed suicide, so mental health has been a point of study and interest most of his life.
Since COVID-19 turned the world upside down, discussion of mental health has seen an uptick. Mental health has been getting more attention in agriculture, too. But Sewell believes more still needs to be done to draw attention to the issue. After all, farming is a high-stress job, and the bust and boom nature of specialty crops can enhance that stress.
In 2018, Hurricane Michael left a path of destruction through the Florida Panhandle and South Georgia. The storm devastated a lot of timber and crop land. Sewell was invited by some old Future Farmers of America friends who knew his story to speak to a group of Georgia growers about mental health.
That talk generated more invitations to speak, and the Mind Your Melon campaign evolved into an official effort to spread the word about mental health in agriculture. A website was established (mindyourmelon.org), and the Sewells have been spreading the word ever since.
How to Participate
As Mind Your Melon gained recognition, Sewell and his wife considered what should be the next steps to move the effort forward. He says one big missing gap in mental health in agriculture is the availability of data.
“When you go to sources of funding, whether public or private, one of the first things you are asked for is data to back up your claims,” Sewell says. “So, Taylor and I felt that a survey to collect this data is an important starting point.”
This summer, the Mind Your Melon Farmer Wellbeing Survey was launched, and the Sewells have been encouraging growers in Florida to fill out the questionnaire. The Florida Farm Bureau Federation, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Center for Leadership and other key stakeholders are collaborating on the survey.
In a letter announcing the survey, Sewell notes: “I recognize the survey will address an uncomfortable topic. Sharing real, meaningful feedback will contribute to research that will guide the development of relevant resources to support Florida farm families.”
Most everyone has had their lives touched in some way by depression or suicide. “Farmer stress is real. Farmer suicide is real. And the need for more attention to farmer wellbeing is real,” Sewell says.
The goal is to collect 3,000 survey responses by the Nov. 10, 2024, deadline. Growers are encouraged to participate because this is an important effort that will benefit farmers.
Sewell turned a very painful moment in his family’s story into a campaign meant to help others. This survey can be a foundation to build out more resources to provide that help.
For more information on the survey, you can email Sewell at marshal@mindyourmelon.org. The survey is located at mindyourmelon.org/survey and takes about 10 to 15 minutes to complete. Individual responses will be held strictly confidential.