The House and Senate recently passed a Farm Bureau-supported measure designed to help farmers respond to stress and decrease the stigma associated with mental health care in rural communities. The Seeding Rural Resilience Act was included in each chamber’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act.
“The recent pandemic, challenging weather, destructive pests, trade disputes, labor shortages and market volatility over the past few years have brought an unprecedented level of pressure on America’s farmers. A 2019 Farm Bureau survey shows that an overwhelming majority of farmers and farmworkers say financial issues, farm or business problems and fear of losing their farm negatively impact their mental health,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall said in a letter to senators urging them to approve the Seeding Rural Resilience Act as an amendment to the defense authorization bill.
Passage of the bill is part of Farm Bureau’s efforts to reduce the stigma surrounding the topic of mental health in rural communities and to provide relevant information to farm families on this important topic, Duvall added.
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