Supporting the people who feed us.
VISION
Bridging the gap between ag producers and mental wellness supports for a healthy and productive Saskatchewan agriculture community.
Who are we?
A support network.
SaskAgMatters Mental Health Network Inc. is a support network created by the Farmer and Rancher Mental Health (FARMh) Initiative research team. The FARMh Initiative was created to identify a farm-culture friendly mental health support system for Saskatchewan farmers and ranchers.
A research network.
The FARMh team is an interdisciplinary team with researchers from Saskatchewan Polytechnic, University of Saskatchewan, University of Manitoba, University of Regina, and Saskatchewan Health Authority.
People like you.
Our team includes agriculture producers, agriculture industry partners, and mental health professionals. Everyone on the team has a rural or farming background.
Board of Directors
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Sharalee Laventure - Director
Shari was born and raised on a mixed farm west of Biggar in a small community called Duperow. She married a farmer and moved north of Biggar to raise her family. She moved to Saskatoon in 2006 and has worked various management jobs including her current position with Cargill as the Strategic Marketing Specialist for Saskatchewan. In 2015, her youngest brother lost his mental health battle and died by suicide. She needed to find something positive that would give the grief a place to settle and joining the FARMh Initiative has her looking forward to making a difference in agriculture producers’ lives with mental health supports designed by them.
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Cynthia Beck - Director
Cynthia Beck, M.Sc., is a Registered Psychologist (provisional) who provides mental health services in rural Saskatchewan. She proudly volunteers as a director of the SaskAgMatters Mental Health Network Incorporated and is an active advocate of mental health in agriculture. Her family operates a multi-generational mixed cattle and grain farm near Milestone, SK.
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Cyle Stewart - Director
Cyle ranches in southwest Saskatchewan with his wife Erika, their three daughters, and Erika's parents. The ranch is a fourth-generation cow/calf and backgrounding outfit. Cyle attended college in Montana on a bull riding scholarship and rode bulls professionally until a series of head injuries forced an early retirement. Currently, Cyle ranches full-time, is a member of the Herbert Ranch Rodeo Committee, and enjoys working at home with his family. Cyle finds great pride in improving their herd's genetics and is always looking for learning opportunities to improve their operation and become more efficient. With prior experience in sports-related head injuries and knowledge of present-day ranching challenges, Cyle hopes to bring a versatile and insightful perspective to the discussions.
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Connie Day- Director
Connie resides on her family farm in Southwest Saskatchewan with her husband Keith. Together they raised 3 sons, Dallas, Kendall and Mitch. In the early years life was busy with Sunday School, 4H and Minor Hockey, then later High School Rodeo. Connie also worked as a Postmaster and is now retired. Life changed for Connie and her family when Dallas passed away by suicide at the age of 24 at the family farm. The love of friends and family helped them get through it. Connie sought Mental health support after his death for a short time. A couple years later Connie decided to volunteer for RCMP Victim Service as it was a great was to pay it forward. Connie looks forward to serving on the board of SaskAgMatters, because she strongly believes we need to support the people who feed us.
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Dr. Michelle Pavloff- Advisor
Michelle is a registered nurse and rural health researcher. She is currently the Director of the Centre for Health Research, Innovation and Scholarship at Saskatchewan Polytechnic. Michelle holds a bachelor of science in nursing, a master of nursing degree, and a PhD.
Michelle is the principal investigator of the FARMh Initiative. Her areas of research include patient-oriented research, rural nursing, rural health, and farmer/rancher mental health.
Advisory Committee Members
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Katherine Little
Katherine is a registered nurse working in general surgery at Royal University Hospital. Growing up in a rural community and coming from a multigenerational family farm in west central Saskatchewan, Katherine understands how stressful and emotionally taxing the farming occupation can be, and how very few resources there are available for farmers and their families. As she continues through her nursing career working with a wide range of individuals who come from all over the province, she continues to witness how important mental health education is and how crucial it is to promote mental health for those around us.
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Morgan Hale
Morgan is a research assistant for the SaskAgMatters Mental Health Network and a passionate advocate for both agriculture and mental health. With a diploma in agribusiness from the University of Saskatchewan and currently pursuing psychiatric nursing at Saskatchewan Polytechnic, Morgan combines these two important fields. Growing up on a ranch in Alberta, Morgan has developed a deep understanding of the significance of agriculture as a producer. With a belief in the crucial role of mental health in the well-being of individuals in the agricultural community, she is dedicated to bridging the gap between agriculture and mental health.
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Alecia Weinheimer
Alecia grew up on a mixed farm in East Saskatchewan. She attended the University of Regina where she earned her Bachelor’s of Human Justice degree. She has been working with families and youth assessing their needs while offering support and resources to assist them. Alecia is actively farming with her spouse on a third-generation mixed farm. Alecia loves being part of food production and education and joined the FARMh Initiative because she believes more mental health support is required for rural families. She looks forward to making a difference in agriculture producers’ lives.