Wisconsin Farm Center Close to Issuing More Farmer Mental Health Counseling Vouchers in 2020 Compared to All of 2019
Friday, April 24th, 2020 -- 9:08 AM
(Wisconsin Ag Connection) -The Wisconsin Farm Center is close to issuing more farmer mental health counseling vouchers so far in 2020 than what was asked for during all of last year.State Interim Ag Secretary Randy Romanski said 82 requests came in from producers who are asking for financial assistance to cover the cost of counseling sessions since January. That's compared to 89 that were applied for in 2019. The mental health funds are administered by the Farm Center, which is a division of the state's agriculture department. He says the majority of recent calls are related to financial stress brought on by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2019-20 state budget allocated $200,000 to be used for programs, such as mental health therapy. Romanski says there's still plenty of funding available for counseling vouchers, as well as other resources the agency offers for those in need. Farmers and agribusiness owners can contact the Farm Center for more information by calling 800-942-2474.
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