Coalition letter supporting funding for the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network

Letter

Dear Chairmen Hoeven and Harris, and Ranking Members Shaheen and Bishop:

We, the undersigned agriculture, rural, and mental health professional organizations representing millions of members across the country, thank you for your leadership in providing strong funding for the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN) in recent appropriations packages. We urge you to continue funding FRSAN at no less than the fully authorized level of $10 million.

FRSAN is a program that supports a service provider network that connects individuals and their families engaged in farming, ranching, and other agriculture-related occupations to stress assistance programs and resources. Four regional centers established through FRSAN are increasing access to farm stress services across the United States by coordinating efforts to serve the unique needs of the populations in each region. Services provided or coordinated through FRSAN include telephone helplines and websites, training programs and workshops, support groups, and outreach services.

Since its inception, FRSAN has helped increase interest in and understanding of mental and behavior health among farmers, ranchers, and farmworkers, while helping decrease stigma associated with these topics among these populations. Mental and behavioral health practitioners say that farmers and farmworkers are increasingly seeking care from mental health professionals and have found it easier to talk to loved ones about mental health.1

Nevertheless, there remains a strong and urgent need for FRSAN. A recent study found that both stress and depression levels are higher among farmers and ranchers than people working in non-farm occupations.2 There are multiple, persistent drivers of stress in our nation’s farming communities, including the significant financial risk involved in agriculture, volatile markets, and heavy debt loads.

Recent challenges in the farm economy,3 such as rising costs of production, falling commodity prices, and high interest rates will only compound and intensify the impacts of stress on farmers and ranchers. Furthermore, more than 60 percent of rural residents live in areas with mental health professional shortages.4 FRSAN is essential for serving populations where the need is great, and resources are limited.

As the Subcommittees develop the FY 2026 agriculture appropriations bill, we urge you to continue funding FRSAN at no less than $10 million. This funding will be critically important in improving the wellbeing of farmers, ranchers, and their families.

Sincerely,

American Farm Bureau Federation
American Psychological Association Services
American Seed Trade Association
American Soybean Association
Farm Aid
Farm Credit Council
Farmer Veteran Coalition
National Association for Rural Mental Health (NARMH)
National Association of Counties
National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors (NACBHDD)
National Association of State Departments of Agriculture
National Association of Wheat Growers
National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA CLUSA)
National Corn Growers Association
National Cotton Council
National Council of Farmer Cooperatives
National Family Farm Coalition
National Farmers Union
National Grange
National Milk Producers Federation
National Organic Coalition
National Pork Producers Council
National Rural Health Association
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
National Young Farmers Coalition
Organic Farmers Association
Organic Trade Association
Rural Minds
U.S. Cattlemen’s Association
USA Rice

1 Allee Mead, “Hopeful Forecasting: Farmers Showing Increased Interest in Mental Health Resources.” Rural Health Information Hub, June 14, 2023. https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/rural-monitor/farmer-mental-health.
2 National Institute of Food and Agriculture. “Understanding and Addressing the Stress Faced by Nation’s Farmers and Ranchers,” May 2023. U.S. Department of Agriculture. https://www.nifa.usda.gov/about-nifa/impacts/understanding-addressing-stress-faced-nations-farmers-ranchers.
3 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. (2025, February 6). Farm sector income & finances: Farm sector income forecast.” https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-sector-income-finances/highlights-from-the-farm-income-forecast.
4 Health Resources and Services Administration. “First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2025 Designated HPSA Quarterly Summary.” Designated Health Professional Shortage Areas Statistics. December 31, 2024. Bureau of Health Workforce. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Agricultural Coalition

Funding for the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network