WSU briefing to Senate panel details Ag Stress Assistance work, counseling vouchers and outreach

The Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee paused its other business to hear a work‑session presentation from Washington State University staff about the university’s Ag Stress Assistance activities. Maddie Vanderkooy, Western Regional Ag Stress Assistance Program coordinator for WSU, described a USDA‑funded regional network that provides outreach, counseling vouchers, economic advising and locally tailored events to reduce farm stress among farmers and agricultural workers.

Vanderkooy said the Western region is culturally and geographically broad — from Pacific Island taro growers to Washington dairies and wheat producers — and that the program is in its fourth round of grant funding. Key program features described to the committee included an online clearinghouse (farmstress.us), a counselor voucher program that offers six free counseling sessions with sliding scale thereafter, a free ag economist consult to help farmers review finances, mini‑grants for local outreach and translation, and promotional work to drive calls to a farmer‑focused hotline.

Vanderkooy presented data she and partners compiled: an estimated suicide mortality rate for farming, forestry and fishing occupations of 28.7 per 100,000, compared with an overall national industry rate of 15.3 per 100,000; about 1.89 million farms nationally (down 7% from 2017); and Washington agriculture accounting for roughly 12% of the state economy, generating nearly $11 billion in annual revenue from about 39,500 farms and ranches and supporting roughly 164,000 jobs in production, processing and related sectors.

To counter isolation — a commonly cited factor in rural and farm suicides — the program runs "Pizza for Producers" community events, and Vanderkooy said early events drew about 90 participants in Skagit County; another event was planned for Yakima. The program coordinates with partners including Farm Aid (resource hotline and clearinghouse), Agrisafe (safety and hotline resources), National AgrAbility (ergonomics/physical supports), Rocky Mountain Farmers Union and other land‑grant universities in the region.

Vanderkooy described operational details: the Farm Aid resource hotline is staffed Monday–Friday, 6 a.m.–7 p.m.; WSU subsidizes a counseling‑voucher program (six free sessions) run through licensed providers with sliding‑scale fees afterward; and the program recently conducted a media push to promote the helpline and related materials.

Committee members asked about stigma, farmworker inclusion, and coordination with 988 crisis services. Vanderkooy said the program emphasizes partners with community credibility to reach migrant and immigrant farmworkers and that 988 is used for warm handoffs; volunteers and regional crisis providers have received targeted trainings on rural and agriculture‑specific outreach.

Senators thanked WSU for the briefing and several legislators — including members with farming backgrounds — praised the local outreach approach and the combination of economic advising and mental‑health resources the program provides. No committee vote or formal action was recorded; the presentation served as a work‑session briefing and stakeholder information.

Program leaders asked the Legislature to be aware of the program’s demonstrated needs for outreach funding and for continued USDA/land‑grant support to expand counseling vouchers, translation services and localized events across the Western region.