{"id":165495,"date":"2026-04-14T15:26:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T15:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/165495\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T15:26:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T15:26:07","slug":"hotline-for-pa-farmers-sees-300-drop-in-calls-texts-amid-mental-health-crisis-pennsylvania-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/165495\/","title":{"rendered":"Hotline for Pa. farmers sees 300% drop in calls, texts amid mental health crisis | Pennsylvania News"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story was produced by the\u00a0State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA<\/a>, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for Talk of the Town, a newsletter of local stories that dig deep, events, and more from north-central PA, at\u00a0spotlightpa.org\/newsletters\/talkofthetown<\/a>.<\/p>\n

BELLEFONTE \u2014 Calls and texts to an emergency line supporting agricultural communities have plummeted in Pennsylvania since a federal grant lapsed.<\/p>\n

The Shapiro administration is now delivering $100,000 to staff the helpline, though the nonprofit that operates it had also requested funds for promotion.<\/p>\n

Between February 2022 and June 2024, the AgriStress Helpline \u2014 a resource developed by the nonprofit AgriSafe Network \u2014\u00a0fielded 107 calls and texts from Pennsylvania farmers and those calling on their behalf. Of those, 58 came in the first 11 months after the number launched statewide with help from a $500,000 federal grant.<\/p>\n

The\u00a024-hour helpline<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 accessible by calling 833-897-2474 or texting PA to 741-741 \u2014 operates seven days a week in 11 states. Staffed by crisis professionals trained to respond to agriculture-related issues, the number has received more than 1,600 calls and texts in the four-plus years since its launch. According to AgriSafe, the top issues are losses from disasters and a lack of money to buy essentials to operate.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania\u2019s usage has gone down, according to an AgriSafe report obtained through a public records request. In the document sent to the state Department of Agriculture ahead of a January legislative hearing on farmers\u2019 mental health, AgriSafe \u2014 which focuses on health and safety initiatives among agricultural communities \u2014 reported a 300% decrease since 2024.<\/p>\n

The nonprofit did not provide exact usage numbers post-2024, and it declined an interview request. In the report, AgriSafe suggested the drop may be tied to reduced promotion after the grant lapsed, though the helpline has remained open statewide \u201cin hopes that future funding streams would become available.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAgriSafe believes had funding and state promotional support been able to continue at the 2022 level; Pennsylvania call volume could have mirrored that of Texas,\u201d the report said. \u201cFor comparison, Texas has 366 contacts (calls\/texts) since launch in February 2022.\u201d<\/p>\n

Texas also has a \u201crobust\u201d\u00a0suicide awareness and prevention program<\/a>\u00a0targeting agricultural communities, the report noted.<\/p>\n

This year, AgriSafe asked Pennsylvania for $380,064 in a two-year budget request \u2014 $90,032 to operate the crisis line and $100,000 for marketing and outreach. AgriSafe said it would give the bulk of promotional dollars to groups like the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, according to email records.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s getting at least part of that request. Pennsylvania will allocate $100,000 from the state\u2019s Farm Bill to support the helpline, state Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding told lawmakers earlier this year. An agency spokesperson told Spotlight PA in an email that the department is currently in the contracting process with AgriSafe, which will use the money to staff its hotline.<\/p>\n

The budget does not directly fund promotion of the crisis helpline, but the spokesperson said Pennsylvania will work with AgriSafe to publicize the resource through social media, outreach, and events.<\/p>\n

State Sen. Elder Vogel (R., Beaver) told Spotlight PA the early surge in AgriStress calls may reflect stress caused by supply chain issues during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the influx of grant money to promote the helpline.<\/p>\n

Vogel, a farmer and chair of the state Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, thinks funding for the AgriStress line could be helpful but acknowledged the state\u2019s competing needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still trying to work hard to get funding in the budget every year, no matter how much it is, even if it\u2019s just a little bit,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery little bit helps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since 2023, Pennsylvania\u2019s 988 call centers have received more than 360,000 calls, according to the state Department of Human Services. An agency spokesperson said it doesn\u2019t track whether those are agriculture-related, but said 988 crisis staff can connect those callers to the AgriStress Helpline.<\/p>\n

Anyone can use the 988 number for 24\/7, confidential help.<\/p>\n

In a statement to Spotlight PA, Rosie Lapowsky \u2014 a spokesperson for Gov. Josh Shapiro\u00a0\u2014 noted that the governor\u2019s\u00a0$53.3 billion<\/a>\u00a0budget pitch earmarks $10 million to boost 988 capacity. She also cited previous state spending on county mental health programs and crisis response efforts, such as walk-in services and 988.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, states cannot do this alone \u2014 Congress must pass a comprehensive farm bill package to continue funding services like AgriStress that help farmers access critical mental health resources when they need it,\u201d Lapowsky said.<\/p>\n

During a joint legislative hearing on mental health at this year\u2019s Farm Show, Redding highlighted the 107 calls and texts to the AgriStress Helpline. He also pointed to the federal\u00a0Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network Program<\/a>, which can connect those in need to resources, but needs reauthorization from Congress to continue.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the meantime, we\u2019re not going to let the structure halt here in the state,\u201d he told lawmakers on the state House and Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committees.<\/p>\n

Lisa Wherry didn\u2019t realize how many people in Pennsylvania used the AgriStress Helpline during its first year and commended the state for its rollout and promotion of the resource.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew we needed it, and we still need it,\u201d Wherry, president of Washington County\u2019s Farm Bureau, told Spotlight PA. \u201cI think we need it even more so today because of the inflation, the cost of fertilizer, the cost of our weather that affects us traditionally. We\u2019ve had more storms this year. There\u2019s just a lot of barriers that are blocking our way to be successful farmers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Farmers, Wherry added, can also do a better job at checking in on each other because \u201cwe\u2019re all dealing with the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

But simplicity could help those working in a volatile industry, she added. A shorter hotline number \u2014 like the\u00a0988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 could be a fix to boost usage, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would rather have a quicker number,\u201d Wherry said. \u201cIf they can make it easier for farmers, the three-digit number, that\u2019s what I think would be very helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n

State policymakers have long discussed mental health challenges among farming communities.<\/p>\n

Experts at the Farm Show hearing, such as Penn State\u2019s Florence Becot, outlined how things beyond farmers\u2019 control \u2014 weather, prices, the supply chain, and workloads \u2014 put pressure on their mental health.<\/p>\n

\u201cNationally, agriculture has the fourth-highest suicide rate of any occupation, and farmers who die by suicide are less likely than the general population to have had prior treatment or warning signs, making prevention more difficult,\u201d Becot, a rural sociologist,\u00a0testified<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Research shows that farmers are often more willing than able to access support, she said. But service gaps, worker shortages, limited time, and a lack of agricultural-informed care make it difficult for those in need to get help.<\/p>\n

To address these barriers, Becot recommended that policymakers create a counseling voucher program, hire more behavioral health specialists to work within agriculture, and offer baseline funding to a crisis hotline staffed by professionals trained to support this sector. Additionally, she said there\u2019s a need to reduce health insurance costs, boost child care access, and create paid family and medical leave, including options for self-employed farmers.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbove all, Pennsylvania needs a well-funded, long-term, and stable approach to farm mental health that avoids the cycle of crisis-driven expansion followed by retrenchment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

SUPPORT THIS JOURNALISM\u00a0and help us reinvigorate local news in north-central Pennsylvania at\u00a0spotlightpa.org\/donate<\/a>. Spotlight PA is funded by\u00a0foundations and readers like you<\/a>\u00a0who are committed to accountability and public-service journalism that gets results.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This story was produced by the\u00a0State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":165496,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":{"0":"post-165495","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pennsylvania","8":"tag-pennsylvania","9":"tag-pennsylvania-headlines","10":"tag-pennsylvania-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165495\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}