Legislation includes Emmer’s STRESS Act to combat farmer suicide, provisions to improve dairy risk management tools, and provides funding for livestock disease prevention.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, following passage of the Conference Report for the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, commonly called the Farm Bill, Congressman Tom Emmer (MN-06) released the following statement: 

“Today, Congress put the nation’s farmers first. This Farm Bill includes improvements specifically needed for farmers in Minnesota’s Sixth District, including better dairy risk management tools, funding to assist beginning farmers, and livestock disease prevention and response. I was proud to cast my vote in support of this legislation,” said Congressman Emmer, whose district encompasses areas of rural Minnesota including parts of Stearns, Benton, Wright and Sherburne Counties.

“As this legislation heads to the President’s desk, I am grateful to see the reauthorization of the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network included. I take heart knowing my colleagues on both sides of the aisle have been supportive of this effort to deliver more mental health treatment to our farmers. They have suffered in silence for far too long,” added Emmer.

The STRESS Act language will reauthorize of the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN) to give states needed resources to provide mental health services for farmers and ranchers. FRSAN was first authorized in 2008, though it did not receive funding and therefore lapsed. Farmers suffer a rate of suicide several times higher than the normal population. This is an important effort towards restoring our nation's attention to Americans in farming.

Learn more about the STRESS Act here and read the full legislative text here.

Read the full legislative text of the Conference Report for the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 here.

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