Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Ag Well Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Rocky Mountain Farmers Union says grant freeze briefly halted Ag Well services; community funds kept program running
Summary
Leanne Sanders and Tyler Garrett said the Ag Well program paused programming after a RASAP federal grant freeze but community fundraising raised roughly $130,000 in 30 days; RASAP funds were later unfrozen and the program applied for the next cycle while planning for a $50,000 shortfall.
Leanne Sanders, director of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union’s Ag Well program, told the Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee that an unexpected freeze of RASAP (USDA) regional grant funds in April temporarily halted the program’s work. Ag Well provides upstream community building, peer coaching and referral connections for farm and ranch mental‑health and stress prevention.
Sanders said the pause lasted roughly three weeks but that RMFU raised about $130,000 in community donations within about 30 days and later obtained other funds to bring total supplemental funding to roughly $150,000. After RASAP funds were released in early June, the organization resumed programming and applied for the RASAP 5 cycle. Sanders warned that the program expects to be $50,000 short once current supplemental funds expire and urged continued state and local support.
Tyler Garrett of RMFU added that the program’s annual federal grants historically ranged from about $100,000 to $150,000 and that Ag Well is now expanding peer‑to‑peer coaching, workshops and social events across Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming.
Committee members asked about restrictions on donor funds; Sanders said most donations were one‑time monies with limited unrestricted amounts ($30,000–$45,000 estimated) and emphasized the need for stable, recurring funding and behavioral‑health services in rural areas.
The committee thanked RMFU for rapid community fundraising and for restarting programming; no formal legislative action was taken during the presentation.
