LOWELL, Mich. — As someone who has been involved in Michigan agriculture their entire life, John Schut knows how hard the profession can be.

"When you look at the large capital investment, the significant risk that farmers take year after year, season after season, finances is definitely one of the big rocks," said Schut.

That’s why the Farm Bureau has brought in Ian Hill, founder of Empowering Minds, an initiative that looks to get everyday people involved in identifying mental health concerns.

"This could be a bartender, an engineer. This could be an accountant, anybody that interacts with friends and family, neighbors and co-workers," said Hill. "If they're equipped with what to look for, what to listen for, what to say and what to do, they can catch the issue upstream before it beco

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