By JORDAN STRICKLER

Kentucky Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers is attempting to cut back on the rate of farmer suicides.

The Senate bill, coined Facilitating Accessible Resources for Mental Health and Encouraging Rural Solutions for Immediate Response to Stressful Times (FARMERS FIRST), is an attempt to remove farming from the list of one of the professions with the highest suicide rates.

S. 2712, sponsored by Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and filed April 19, would reestablish the previously eliminated Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN) and authorize $50 million for the program. Despite being authorized in the 2008 farm bill, FRSAN never received any funding.

The act would provide grants to state departments of agriculture, state extension services and nonprofits to establish helplines, provide suicide prevention training for farm advocates and create support groups.

Additionally, the bill would establish a Farm and Ranch Stress Assessment Committee to better understand how agricultural workers’ mental health impacts rural development, and provide recommendations for addressing mental health care needs within the ag community.

“Farming and ranching is a highly stressful occupation,” said Roger Johnson, president of the National Farmers Union (NFU), which launched the Farm Crisis Center in 2017 as its own attempt at curbing the suicide rate. “As the downturn in the farm economy worsens, many producers are finding themselves in a state of crisis.

“The FARMERS FIRST Act would provide farmers with support they need to weather these tough times.”

A 2016 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on suicides in 12 states found that workers in the farming, fishing and forestry occupations had the highest rate (84.5 per 100,000 people). For males, this increased to 90.5 per 100,000.

That number was more than five times the national rate and is comparable to suicide rates among military veterans. Additionally, the CDC used data from 2012. And since 2013, net farm income has decreased by half, according to the USDA, and the median is forecast to decline to negative-$1,316 this year.

“For those in rural areas seeking mental health services, they face two giant obstacles: availability and accessibility," said Government Affairs Communications Coordinator Jessica Seigel for the National Rural Health Assoc. "In 55 percent of all American counties, most of which are rural, there is not a single psychologist, psychiatrist or social worker.

“The Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network could help support agricultural workers and their families in rural communities by providing at-home resources for mental health services.”

Farmer suicide has gained attention in the international spotlight over the past year, with articles on the issue appearing in major outlets such as The New York Times, Newsweek and The Guardian. Lawmakers have taken note, with House Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) introducing the Stemming the Tide of Rural Economic Stress and Suicide (STRESS) Act in March, House Resolution 5259, which was endorsed by 36 agricultural and rural organizations.

“Those who work in agriculture face uniquely high-stress challenges ranging from social isolation to strong dependence on factors outside of their control,” said Emmer. “Combined with the incredible lack of mental health treatment available, our farmers have been left to suffer alone in the shadows without the help and care they need and deserve.”

“Farmers are the backbone of our rural economy and leaders in our rural communities,” said Baldwin of S. 2712. “Washington has been slow to recognize the challenges that farmers are facing, and the daily stressors that they experience during difficult years.

“The FARMERS FIRST Act will make sure that when there is a crisis on the farm, farmers know they are not alone and there are resources available to help them find a path through tough times."

Cosponsors of her bill include Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.).