An upcoming online training for agricultural professionals will teach individuals how to recognize and respond to potential signs of crisis and suicidal behavior.

Farming and ranching can be stressful in the best of times. Financial worries, unpredictable weather, unpredictable commodity prices, plant pests, livestock diseases and isolation all contribute to a producer’s anxiety. And now Nebraska’s rural communities and families are coping with the unpredictability and imposed isolation produced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response to this uncertainty, Nebraska Extension and the Panhandle Public Health District will be offering an online “Question. Persuade. Refer.” training. QPR is a suicide prevention program that teaches participants three steps to help save a life from suicide.

Just as people trained in CPR and the Heimlich maneuver help save thousands of lives each year, people trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade and refer someone to help.

This 90-minute training will be held online, via Zoom on Nov. 12 at 11 a.m. CT (10 a.m. MT). There is no cost to attend the training, but attendance is limited to 35 participants.

This material is based upon work supported by USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2019-77028-30436.