USDA to study mental health crisis among drought-stressed farmers
H.R. 8149 — Agricultural Access to Addiction and Mental Health Care Act · Filed by Joe Neguse (D-CO) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 27, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study how accessible addiction and mental health care services are for farmers and ranchers facing drought, extreme weather, market instability, and misinformation. The study will examine barriers to care in rural areas, identify successful state and local programs that could be scaled up, and recommend improvements—including exploring whether the government could fund six therapy sessions through an existing farm stress program. The USDA must report findings within 180 days and has $1 million per year (2026–2029) to conduct the work.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is a directed study and report on mental health care accessibility for farmers, with modest appropriations to fund the research. It is a fact-finding and policy-development measure, not a spending program or regulatory change.
What the text implies
- Study findings may inform future legislation to expand the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network or create new mental health funding streams for rural communities, potentially committing larger appropriations later.
- Emphasis on 'misinformation targeting consumers' as a stressor on farmers suggests the study may examine how agricultural misinformation affects farmer mental health, potentially informing future agricultural communication or media literacy initiatives.
- Exploration of telehealth and telemedicine expansion could lead to regulatory or reimbursement changes affecting rural healthcare delivery beyond mental health.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Farmers and ranchers face documented mental health crises linked to economic and environmental stress; this bill funds research to understand barriers and identify solutions, potentially leading to expanded access to care. The study itself imposes no costs on citizens and may inform future programs that reduce stigma and improve rural mental health outcomes.
Who stands to gain
- USDA contractors and research institutions conducting the study
- Mental health organizations and agricultural organizations consulted in the study
- Potential future beneficiaries: rural mental health providers if recommendations lead to expanded fu
Named in the bill
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network, House Committee on Agriculture, Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 1 Democrats, 1 Republicans.
- Mar 27, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Mar 27, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Agriculture · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $410,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 17 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Joe Neguse, the sponsor, reported $1,076,229 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Digital Currency Group — $410,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (3,958 characters) on Apr 14, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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