S. 2282Senate119th Congress (2025-2027)In Committee

Farmers First Act of 2025

Introduced July 15, 2025

AI-Generated Summary

Updated November 23, 2025 at 11:31 PM UTC

The Farmers First Act of 2025 updates the 2008 Farm Bill’s Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network. It expands the network’s services to explicitly include crisis lines, boosts annual funding to $15 million for the 2026‑2030 period, and lets grant recipients partner with various health providers to ensure farmers and ranchers can access comprehensive mental‑health and substance‑use care.

Key Provisions

  • Adds the phrase “including crisis lines” to the description of services the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network may provide.
  • Increases the program’s authorized funding to $15 million per year for fiscal years 2026‑2030 (up from $10 million per year for FY2019‑2023).
  • Allows grant recipients to set up referral relationships with a range of health providers—including community behavioral health clinics, health centers, rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers, and critical access hospitals—to connect farmers and ranchers to mental‑health and substance‑use treatment and support.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action
SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

July 15, 2025

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

July 15, 2025

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

July 15, 2025

Floor Debate

3 members

What members said about S. 2282 on the floor

2 Republicans1 Democrat
John Thune
Sen. John ThuneR-SD · Sep 19, 2025

Mr. President, notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that following the vote on passage of H.R. 5371, the cloture motion filed during yesterday's session of the Senate on Executive…

John Barrasso
Sen. John BarrassoR-WY · Sep 19, 2025

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Indiana (Mr. Banks), the Senator from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn), the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Cassidy), the Senator from Wisconsin…

Patty Murray
Sen. Patty MurrayD-WA · Sep 19, 2025

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued July 15, 2025

II

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 2282

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

July 15, 2025

Ms. Baldwin (for herself, Ms. Ernst, Ms. Smith, Ms. Collins, and Mr. Boozman) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

A BILL

To amend the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to reauthorize the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Farmers First Act of 2025.

2.

Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network

Section 7522 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 5936) is amended—

(1)

in subsection (b)(1)(A), by inserting , including crisis lines before the semicolon at the end;

(2)

in subsection (d), by striking $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023 and inserting $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030; and

(3)

by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following:

(e)

Referrals to providers

As part of the efforts of the recipient of a grant under subsection (a) to connect individuals to behavioral health counseling and wellness support and to ensure individuals have access to a comprehensive scope of mental health and substance use treatments and supports, when applicable, the grant recipient may establish referral relationships with—

(1)

certified community behavioral health clinics described in section 223 of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (42 U.S.C. 1396a note; Public Law 113–93);

(2)

health centers (as defined in section 330(a) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b(a)));

(3)

rural health clinics (as defined in section 1861(aa) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(aa)));

(4)

Federally qualified health centers (as defined in that section); and

(5)

critical access hospitals (as defined in section 1861(mm) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(mm))).

.