SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Oct. 14, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah agriculture officials are again promoting their new program to pay for mental health treatment for armers, ranchers and their families.
Multiple posts on social media trumpet the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food’s Ag Stress Assistance Program, or ASAP.
They feature a 3-minute video which says male ag producers are two times more likely to commit suicide as workers in other industries, quoting the Centers for Disease Control.
ASAP’s key feature is $2,000 vouchers for mental health counseling.
The program is meant to “ring the bell of awareness that this is a problem,” says Josh Dallin in the video, a professor and director with Utah State University’s extension services, an ASAP partner with the UDAF.
Utah Ag Commissioner Craig Buttars also appears in the video with farmers and ranchers explaining that the same pride and self-reliance that defines farmers and ranchers prevents them from seeking help.
“Unpredictable weather, volatile commodity markets and input prices, extreme working conditions — whether carrying forward a multigenerational legacy or establishing a new operation, farmers and ranchers face a unique set of stressors on a daily basis,” according to the UDAF website,
For which ASAP provides financial assistance, education, and resources for Utah farmers and ranchers in the form of seminars and workshops, online assistance as well as the $2,000 vouchers.
The program is funded by a $599,605 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, officials said in announcing ASAP’s launch in March. Which was followed by a round of ASAP posts on social media similar to the outreach online in September and October.
For full details https://ag.utah.gov/asap/
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