It's NDFB Week!

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March 8, 2026

Topic: Events

The theme for this year's event is Harvesting Hope: Healthy minds for safer farms.

Farming and ranching are among the most physically dangerous occupations, due to the equipment used and the long hours spent in fields and tending to animals. They are also dangerous, mentally, due to the stress that can become chronic because of the many factors that are beyond an individual's control.

According to a recent paper published in PubMed, "Studies demonstrate that even if farmers have access to mental healthcare, they may underutilize it, especially given perceptions of it being inaccessible, long distances to travel for care, and the pervasive stigma toward receiving mental healthcare ^{Citation57,Citation58} resulting in fewer mental health diagnoses among farming populations."*

We are reaching out to remind farmers and ranchers that they are essential and there is no shame in asking for help. A new web page on this site is designed to provide resources for those who are feeling stressed but are reluctant or unsure about what steps they could take.

In addition, NDFB will be announcing the winners of the drawing contest as well as the Win the Bin

Here are just some of the activities:

Barnes County Farm Bureau will once again hold its Free Meat Monday event at J&L Bar in Sanborn on Monday, March 9. BCFB will be providing a free burger basket from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Foster County Farm Bureau will provide free coffee all day at the Prairie Inn, will hold an ag book reading at the Carrington Public Library, and is sponsoring a meat bundle giveaway.

Richland County Farm Bureau is sponsoring free cheeseburgers on Monday, March 9, from 5 - 8 p.m. at Doug's Bar in Fairmount.

Bottineau County Farm Bureau is sponsoring free burgers and chips, Thursday, March 12, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Veterans Hall in Bottineau.

Many other county Farm Bureaus will also be holding events and activities. We will share information on the activities and photos from the events as we receive them. They will be posted on our NDFB Week page.

Finally, the NDFB Foundation will hold its Spring Harmony Gala on Friday, March 13. Get all the details and get your tickets to attend at this link (The ticket deadline is Monday, March 9).

*Ward, J. M., & Blosnich, J. R. (2025). Poor Mental Health Days and Depression by Farming Occupation and Sociodemographic Factors: BRFSS 2019 Data from 13 States. Journal of Agromedicine, 1. https://doi.org/10.1080/1059924X.2025.2582655