NY FarmNet + NYS Agricultural Mediation Receive $500,000 Grant from USDA-NIFA to Address Farmer Behavioral Health in New York State

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced that an investment of nearly $25 million for 50 grants supporting Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN) State Department of Agriculture (SDA) projects. NY FarmNet and New York State Agricultural Mediation Program (NYSAMP) received $500,000 to support this work in the Empire State. The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets is supporting both organizations with this project. 

“NIFA’s Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network connects farmers, ranchers, and others in agriculture-related occupations to stress assistance programs,” said NIFA Director Dr. Carrie Castille. “Creating and expanding a network to assist farmers and ranchers in times of stress can increase behavioral health awareness, literacy, and positive outcomes for agricultural producers, workers and their families.”

Funded projects must initiate, expand, or sustain programs that provide professional agricultural behavioral health counseling and referral for other forms of assistance as necessary through farm telephone helplines and websites; training programs and workshops; support groups; and outreach services and activities.

NY FarmNet has been assisting farmers for over 35 years by offering free, confidential, and impartial financial and personal consulting services. Personal consulting is centered around communication, stress management, referrals to community resources, family dynamics, and managing anxiety and depression. This project aims to raise awareness in the agricultural community of New York around behavioral health services that are available, and to expand upon these services. NY FarmNet will develop a group of skilled trainers in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) and hold free of charge workshops in MHFA and suicide prevention for farmers and agribusiness professionals across the state. A marketing campaign will help lessen the stigma associated with asking for help with behavioral health challenge and raise awareness of available resources.

NYSAMP, as a subrecipient to NY FarmNet, will offer direct services for labor issues to the farm community. They will provide specialized training to a team of highly skilled mediators and expand services to address labor topics between or amongst employees and employers such as conflict management, cultivating relationships, and communication.

Long before the pandemic caused an increase in stress across the board, mental health issues were a rising concern in farm communities across the country. USDA-NIFA introduced a competitive grants program, the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN), reauthorized by the 2018 Farm Bill, which supports projects that provide stress assistance for people in farming, ranching, and other agriculture-related occupations. In fiscal year 2020, NIFA awarded $28.7 million to four regional entities to develop the FRSAN and ensure vulnerable agricultural producers and their families have sufficient options for high-quality, affordable help, close to home. The funds now being utilized by NY FarmNet and NYSAMP are an additional effort by the federal government to address these same issues on a state-by-state basis. If you have any questions about this project, please contact NY FarmNet at 1-800-547-3276.

This work is supported by 7 U.S.C. 5936, Section 7522 of FCEA of 2008, Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN), Grant No. 2021-70035-35550, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.