DARLINGTON — On Friday, May 27, and as Mental Health Awareness Month continues, Agriculture Deputy Secretary Jewel Bronaugh was set to kick off a series of events in states across the country highlighting the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) efforts under the Biden-Harris Administration to support the vitality and mental wellbeing of our nation’s producers. 

The Deputy Secretary is scheduled to travel to Wisconsin, where she will host a roundtable discussion with Senator Tammy Baldwin in Arlington focused on farmers’ mental health. From volatile market demand for their products to bad weather, farmers often face numerous challenges that can create or exacerbate stress, anxiety and trauma. 

USDA has worked to ensure that farmers and families in rural communities have access to the resources they need to address mental health challenges. In October, USDA announced an investment of nearly $25 million for 50 grants supporting Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (FRSAN) State Department of Agriculture projects, which connect farmers, ranchers, and others in agriculture-related jobs to stress assistance programs, which provide vital support, ranging from mental health and legal issues to family and youth stress.  

In the afternoon, Deputy Secretary Bronaugh was scheduled to travel to Darlington, where she was to announce $52 million in USDA Rural Development investments to replace the existing Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County with a new, fully-equipped and staffed facility designed to meet the current and future needs of the area. The event would underscore USDA’s commitment under the Biden-Harris Administration to revitalize Rural America through vital funding opportunities like this that will create and expand access to health care and other critical services.