Newhouse Applauds Mental Health Funding for Central Washington Producers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) applauded the $500,000 in funding to Washington State's Department of Agriculture to support Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN) State Department of Agriculture (SDA) projects funded by the 2018 Farm Bill. The Washington State Department of Agriculture will collaborate with Washington Department of Health and Washington State University Extension to create two programs to address suicide prevention and behavioral health.

"Our farmers and ranchers have been working under intense conditions over the last year and a half to continue ensuring our food supply chain remains uninterrupted, and our grocery store shelves remain full," said Rep. Newhouse. "This grant funding will go a long way towards helping these men and women deal with the stress this has caused in a healthy, manageable way."

Background:

Long before the pandemic caused an increase in stress around the world, stress-related mental health was already a rising concern across farm communities coast to coast. USDA-NIFA introduced a competitive grants program, the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN), reauthorized by the 2018 Farm Bill, which supports projects that provide stress assistance for people in farming, ranching, and other agriculture-related occupations.

FRSAN offers a conduit to improving behavioral health awareness, literacy, and more favorable outcomes for them and their families.

In fiscal year 2020, NIFA awarded $28.7 million to four regional entities contributing to FRSAN, to ensure vulnerable agricultural producers and their families have more options for high-quality, affordable help close to home.

###