There’s a push in Congress to increase funding for USDA’s Farm and Ranch Assistance Network.
Minnesota Republican Tom Emmer tells Brownfield he led a group of 11 U.S. representatives who want to support rural Americans facing acute mental health challenges.
“Even with this clear need, rural areas routinely have less access to mental health resources. Since 2018, the last time we passed a farm bill, we’ve led the effort to provide $10 million in funding for rural mental healthcare.”
He says approximately 6.5 million rural Americans suffer from a mental illness but receive less frequent mental health treatment from providers with less training than their counterparts living in non-rural areas.
