# Farmers First Act of 2025 - Plain Language Summary

## What This Bill Does

The Farmers First Act of 2025 updates and expands a federal program that provides mental health and stress support to farmers and ranchers. Specifically, it reauthorizes the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network, which helps agricultural workers access counseling, wellness programs, and crisis support services. The bill makes three main changes to the existing program: it adds crisis hotlines as an explicit service option, increases funding, and expands the types of healthcare providers that can partner with the program.

## Who Benefits

Farmers and ranchers struggling with stress, mental health issues, or substance use problems are the primary beneficiaries. The bill recognizes that agricultural workers face unique pressures—including financial uncertainty, weather-related crop losses, and isolation—that can impact their mental health. By expanding the network of available providers and services, the bill aims to make it easier for rural agricultural workers to access the help they need.

## Key Changes

- **Increased Funding**: Funding increases from $10 million per year (2019-2023) to $15 million per year (2026-2030)
- **Crisis Lines**: Explicitly includes crisis hotlines as part of the support services
- **Expanded Provider Network**: Allows the program to partner with community mental health clinics, rural health centers, federally qualified health centers, and critical access hospitals to ensure farmers can access comprehensive mental health and substance abuse treatment

Farmers First Act of 2025

Feenstra, Randy

Farmers First Act of 2025This bill extends through FY2030 and revises the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN). This Department of Agriculture program provides competitive grants to states, Indian tribes, and qualified nonprofit organizations to provide stress assistance programs (i.e., professional agricultural behavioral health counseling, helplines, and resources) to individuals engaged in farming, ranching, and agriculture-related occupations.The bill specifies that the grant funding for farm telephone helplines and websites may also be used for crisis lines.Further, FRSAN grant recipients may establish referral relationships with providers, including Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, health centers, rural health clinics, and critical access hospitals.