Bill Summary

Bill Summary

This bill, known as the "National Agricultural Crisis Hotline Act of 2023", aims to address the high suicide rates among farmers and ranchers in the United States. It proposes to amend the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to reauthorize the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network and establish a national agricultural crisis hotline.

Findings

The bill highlights several key findings:

The suicide rate among farmers is 3.5 times higher than the rate in the general population.
Male farmers and ranchers have significantly higher rates of suicide compared to other professions.
The percentage of adults living in completely rural areas has increased, leading to higher rates of alcohol abuse in those areas.
While the stigma surrounding mental health in farming and ranching communities has decreased, it still plays a significant role in influencing behavior.

Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network

The bill proposes to amend Section 7522 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to enhance the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network. The proposed amendments include:

Providing mental health training for agriculture professionals such as farm loan officers, extension agents, and State department of agriculture staff.
Establishing a national agricultural crisis hotline as part of the network to provide emotional support and resources for farmers, ranchers, and their families affected by mental health and substance use disorders.
Requiring the hotline to be staffed 24/7, offer real-time assistance by voice and through texting, and provide follow-up calls to callers.
Collecting data on call volume, rescue data, caller information, and referrals provided.
Ensuring that hotline staff are trained in culturally and linguistically appropriate support, have awareness training on farm stress, and possess the necessary credentials to provide evidence-based suicide intervention hotline care.
Forming partnerships between the national agricultural crisis hotline and existing farm telephone helplines and websites.
Providing information about the hotline to participants of financial assistance programs for farmers and ranchers and referring agriculture-related calls received through the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline to the national agricultural crisis hotline.
Developing a directory of organizations to which hotline staff can make referrals.
Conducting a public awareness campaign for the hotline.
Requiring the Secretary to submit an annual report on the effectiveness of the hotline.

Budget Allocation

The bill proposes an increased budget allocation of $19,000,000 for each fiscal year from 2024 to 2028, with $4,000,000 designated specifically for carrying out the provisions related to the national agricultural crisis hotline.

Rep. Donald Davis

Stats

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