During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic personal stress and farm financial stress was a constant concern for Ky producers. Managing a farm business in uncertain times can be extremely difficult. To address the financial and mental stresses those families were dealing with, Family and Consumer Sciences Extension and Agricultural Economics Extension faculty collaboratively developed a virtual program to reach out to producers and their families, “Crossing Through This: Managing Farm and Family in 2020”.

This 4-part series took place July-August of 2020. We had the following attendance joining us virtually for the Zoom Webinars: July 15^th 89 participants, July 23^rd 102 participants, August 6^th 73 participants, and August 13^th 67 participants. We did encourage our registrants to watch with their family members together so they could continue the conversation after the conclusion of each session. It is assumed we had more than the numbers represent.

Dr. David Kohl of AgriVision, LLC, Mr. Mark Barker of Farm Credit Mid-America, Mr. Brian Lacefield of USDA FSA, Dr. Deborah Reed of UK CAFE, and Dr. Steve Issacs (series host) worked together to present a fantastic program that gave producers and their families resources that could help, a sense of hope in what they could control with business practices, mental health tools, and government loans.