Stress Assistance Network overlooked again in federal ag funding

The U.S. Senate committee in charge of developing an appropriations bill for agricultural interests has, once again, failed to fund a national network that can aid farmers and ranchers in crisis.

The Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network was authorized (but not funded) by the 2008 farm bill. If funded, it would create a national crisis hotline for rural workers and mandate additional behavioral health services in geographically rural regions. While some states, like Iowa and Minnesota, currently have hotlines and some capacity to provide behavioral health services designed for ag workers, many others have nothing in place.

As chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies, Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) introduced the 2011 appropriations bill to the full Senate on July 15. The requested $5 million for the program, which amounts to less than 1 percent of the total appropriations package, was not included in the bill. This marks the second time since the program was authorized that Congress has failed to provide funding.

U.S. Sens. Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley of Iowa pushed for the creation of the stress assistance network as a part of the farm bill. Harkin, a Democrat who previously led the Senate Agricultural Committee, requested the $5 million be provided to the program during appropriations debate. Grassley, a Republican, and Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota also argued for “appropriating the maximum amount possible” in a letter sent to the agriculture appropriations subcommittee in May 2010.

“Farming is one of the most stressful and dangerous occupations in the United States,” Grassley said in December 2007, while urging members of his own political party to stop their attempts to block inclusion of the network in the farm bill. “There are environmental, cultural and economic factors that put farmers and ranchers at a higher risk for mental health problems. Stress in agriculture contributes to rates of depression and suicide that are double the national average. This is true even in good times for farmers.”

Indeed, as senators who opposed creation of the network were quick to point out, the agriculture community at the time of the farm bill debate was flourishing. That isn’t the case today as farmers brace against overall economic decline, suffer massive product price reductions and battle against misinformation about disease. Under these circumstances, and without a safety net, health care professionals are worried that the nation will once again witness breakdowns within agricultural communities similar to those seen during the 1980s farm crisis.

Although there is still time for the full Senate to make necessary changes to the appropriations bill in order to fund the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network, the overall climate in Washington is not conducive to any spending measures, much less one that faced strong opposition from its inception.

Because the program was not funded last year, at least one state hotline has already closed, and another state’s program warns that it only has enough funding to make it through this year.

The agriculture appropriations bill funds a wide assortment of federal program, most within the confines of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The programs include research, education, extension activities, conservation programs, farm income and support, inspection activities, community and economic development, rural housing and food assistance programs. The bill also provides funding for the Food and Drug Administration and allows for use of collected fees for administrative expenses of the Farm Credit Administration.

The total of the bill, as reported by Kohl and the subcommittee to the full Senate, is in excess of $132 trillion. The bill appropriates $10 trillion more than its 2010 counterpart, and $25 million more than the 2011 budget estimate.

All amounts shown are in thousands of dollars, so add three zeros to the end of each to show the true amount.