Farmers First Act of 2025
The Farmers First Act of 2025 would reauthorize the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN), a program created to support mental health and wellness for people in farming and ranching communities and other rural residents. The bill makes three key changes: (1) it adds crisis lines to the network’s resources; (2) it increases authorized funding for the program from prior levels to $15 million annually for fiscal years 2026 through 2030; and (3) it broadens how grant recipients can connect people to care by allowing referrals to a wider set of health-care providers, including certified community behavioral health clinics, health centers, rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers, and critical access hospitals. Overall, the bill aims to strengthen access to mental health and substance-use services for farm and rural communities by both funding and creating more referral options. The bill is introduced in the House as H.R. 4400, titled the Farm Bill amendment known as the Farmers First Act of 2025. It’s intended to be a modest but targeted expansion and modernization of the existing FRASN, with a focus on crisis support and better links to a broader network of health-care providers.
Key Points
- 1Short title: The act may be cited as the “Farmers First Act of 2025.”
- 2Reauthorization of the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network: Reauthorizes the FRASN under the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 5936) to continue funding and activities.
- 3Include crisis lines: In the program’s resources, crisis lines are added to the list of available supports.
- 4Increased funding: Subsection (d) is amended to provide $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 (replacing the prior $10,000,000 for fiscal years 2019–2023).
- 5Expanded referrals to providers: Grants under the program may establish referral relationships with a broader set of providers, including:
- 6- certified community behavioral health clinics (as described in the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014)
- 7- health centers (as defined in the Public Health Service Act)
- 8- rural health clinics
- 9- federally qualified health centers
- 10- critical access hospitals
- 11Purpose of referrals: To connect individuals to behavioral health counseling, wellness support, and a comprehensive range of mental health and substance-use treatments and supports.