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Pennsylvania hearing urges long‑term funding for farmer mental health; state pledges $100,000 to helpline
Summary
At a Farm Show hearing convened by the Agriculture & Rural Affairs committee, state, university and farm‑group witnesses described high levels of stress in agriculture and urged long‑term funding and structural policy changes; Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said Pennsylvania will allocate $100,000 from the PA Farm Bill to sustain the agri‑stress helpline while federal reauthorization is pending.
At a hearing convened during the Pennsylvania Farm Show, lawmakers and experts highlighted growing mental‑health challenges facing farmers and pressed for stable funding and structural policy changes.
Secretary Russell Redding told the Agriculture & Rural Affairs committee that the federal Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network previously received a $10,000,000 appropriation and that Pennsylvania accessed the program; to sustain state services while federal reauthorization remains uncertain he said, “We’re putting $100,000 out of our PA Farm Bill into that.” Redding also reported that Pennsylvania callers have made at least 107 contacts to the agri‑stress hotline and described partnerships with Penn State and other nonprofits.
Why it matters: witnesses argued that farm mental health is driven not only by clinical needs but by structural stressors—market volatility,…
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