Prior research done in pennsylvania by penn state's office of rural health found that mental health issues are prevalent in 17.7% of the general population over the age of 18

One of the concerning findings was that access to care continues to be an issue, with rural areas lacking hospitals and specialized clinics to address mental and behavioral health needs. This lack of care facilities is especially alarming as IT relates to the agriculture community, where many individuals reside in rural areas and are in an occupation with a high suicide rate. A 2017 center for disease control study showed that rural counties consistently had higher suicide rates than metropolitan counties from 2001-2015.the pennsylvania DEPARTMENT of agriculture (DEPARTMENT) in conjunction with the pennsylvania center for dairy excellence, national young farmers, and agrisafe, on behalf of the commonwealth's agriculture community, will initiate, expand and sustain programs that provide professional agricultural behavioral health counseling and referral for other forms of assistance as necessary. The pennsylvania DEPARTMENT of agriculture (DEPARTMENT) in conjunction with the pennsylvania center for dairy excellence (CDE), national young farmers (NYF), and agrisafe, on behalf of the commonwealth's agriculture community, will initiate, expand and sustain programs that provide professional agricultural behavioral health counseling and referral for other forms of assistance as necessary.CDE will work with its fellow centers on expanding outreach by growing their programming, especially on-farm efforts. The DEPARTMENT will form a partnership with agrisafe to develop a multi-pronged approach to farmer stress assistance, including a comprehensive agriculture hotline model to provide mental health crisis response 24/7 and education and training for healthcare professionals, youth and beginning producers, and agriculture communities (family, community, and agribusiness groups). This will include collaborating on their nurse coach program. The DEPARTMENT will work with NYF to provide funds to pennsylvania organizations focused on improving mental health outcomes for underserved populations and engage with the regional cohort. The project will be enhanced by a statewide education and awareness campaign targeted at the agriculture community, across the commonwealth. This campaign, led by the DEPARTMENT and the commonwealth's media partner red house, will promote the existing resources and information available, while also alerting people to the development of the agrisafe partnership. A key component of this campaign will be to destigmatize mental health treatment and promote the concept of mental health and seeking assistance, from a more realistic and positive perspective. This effort will last for one year, as outlined by the terms of this grant.