USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded $1.92 million in four competitive grants supporting projects to provide stress assistance programs to support individuals who are engaged in farming, ranching, and other agriculture-related occupations. These projects were awarded to four regional entities to help launch the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network. Funding for the grants comes from the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network program, authorized by the 2018 Farm Bill.

The awards:

“This program sets the long-term foundation for a Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network that will provide stress assistance programs to individuals who are engaged in farming, ranching, and other agriculture-related occupations on a regional basis. Our farmers, ranchers, and producers need help and programs that provide professional agricultural behavioral health assistance and referral for other forms of support, as necessary,” said NIFA Director J. Scott Angle.

“Iowa farmers work tirelessly from sunrise to sundown, in the rain and the shine, to feed and fuel the world. Their work isn’t easy, and mental health issues, including suicide, are becoming all too common in our agriculture community,” said Sen. Joni Ernst, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy, and sponsor of the Facilitating Accessible Resources for Mental Health and Encouraging Rural Solutions For Immediate Response to Stressful Times (FARMERS FIRST) Act. “It’s imperative our farmers and ranchers have access to mental health resources and support.”

The Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network was created to establish a network that assists farmers, ranchers, and other agriculture-related workers in times of stress and offers a conduit to improving behavioral health awareness, literacy, and outcomes for them and their families.

Source: Office of Sen. Joni Ernst, NIFA, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.