2019 Bruce Cottington Award
Ted Matthews
The 2019 Bruce Cottington “Friend of Dairy” award recipient is Ted Matthews, a mental health practitioner of Hutchinson, Minn.
Ted Matthews, who works for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and serves as the director of MN Rural Mental Health, fully understands the extreme pressure that farmers are facing today. Ted is the local expert who farmers across the state call with a question about mental health or suicide.
Matthews has a Master of Science degree in Psychology and is certified in cognitive behavioral therapy with over 30 years of experience in counseling in rural areas including during five natural disasters. Over the past two decades, his focus has been on farmer mental health support, providing outreach training and speaking nationwide about farm stressors. Ted also has provided expert testimonial to state legislators to assist in securing additional funding for statewide mental health counseling to farm families.