The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and National Farmers Union (NFU) are working together to raise awareness about the nation’s opioid epidemic and its impact on farming communities. The “Farm Town Strong” campaign aims to provide resources and information to rural Americans and to encourage farmers to support one another when affected by the crisis.

The joint campaign comes in response to a recent survey commissioned by the nation’s two largest farm groups that showed staggering statistics regarding the opioid crisis and its impact on American farmers, farm workers and farm families.

“Farm country has been hit hard by the opioid crisis – even harder than rural America as a whole, or big cities,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “It’s going to take everyone working together to combat this crisis to make a difference. That’s why Farm Bureau and National Farmers Union are teaming up to show unity on this issue and encourage farm families to help their neighbors. If you or a family member has been affected by opioid addiction, it’s important to talk about it so that others will know they are not fighting this alone.”

The groups have launched a website at FarmTownStrong.org with information and resources to help farm families and rural communities affected in any way by the opioid epidemic. AFBF President Zippy Duvall and NFU President Roger Johnson will lead a discussion on overcoming the opioid crisis on Monday, Jan. 8, at the 2018 AFBF Annual Convention & IDEAg Trade Show in Nashville, Tennessee.