H.R. 8149 — Agricultural Access to Addiction and Mental Health Care Act

This section states congressional findings that farmers and ranchers face challenges—including severe and persistent drought, extreme weather events, commodities market instability, and consumer-targeted misinformation—that significantly impact their mental health and well-being.

This section requires the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, to conduct a study on the accessibility of addiction and mental health care providers and services for farmers, ranchers, agricultural workers, and their family members affected by severe drought, extreme weather, commodity market instability, misinformation, and related factors. The study must examine (1) availability and accessibility of relevant providers and services in rural areas; (2) barriers including financial, geographic, and cultural factors; (3) best practices for replication at the federal level (e.g., hiring/training specialists, cultural competency training, peer support certificates, youth curricula, telehealth expansion, stigma-reduction outreach, provider-ag organization coordination, and program evaluation); (4) recommendations for improvements; and (5) feasibility of funding six reimbursable therapy sessions through the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network (7 U.S.C. 5936), which provides grants for behavioral health counseling, helplines, training, support groups, and outreach to agricultural workers. (Thus, the study may inform expansion of network services.) The Secretary must collaborate with federal agencies, state departments of agriculture, mental health and agricultural organizations, and stakeholders; submit a report with findings to the House and Senate Agriculture Committees within 180 days of enactment; and receives $1 million authorized annually for FY2026 through FY2029.