Source:  NATIONAL SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE COALITION, 7/11/19

Farmers and ranchers across the country are in distress. Plummeting farm incomes, market instability, extreme weather patterns, and a thin disaster safety net has pushed many to bankruptcy, foreclosure, and even suicide.
Farm Aid (an NSAC member) has seen a 109 percent increase in distressed farmer calls over the past year on their farmer hotline – the only national hotline targeting farmers in distress. And the first quarter of 2019 had a 93 percent vault in year-to-date calls. And while studies on farmer suicide rates differ, the same message rings clear: farmer-occupational suicide rates are significantly higher than that of the general U.S. population. Making matters worse, preventative mental health and behavioral services are often out of reach due to rural out-migration, affordability, and stigmas surrounding receiving therapy treatment.

Amidst this emerging crisis in farm country, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced $2 million in funds to better support farmers in stress. In this initial year of funding, the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN) seeks to establish a network of organizations to connect farmers and ranchers, along with farmworkers, to stress assistance programs and resources across the country. FRSAN is a competitive grant program and administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). More details on this funding opportunity are outlined further below.

Applications are due on July 25, 2019 at 5 pm EST.

For more information, click here.