Ag secretary, GOP leader spar over farmer mental health
MADISON - The Republican leader of the state Senate and the Democratic head of the state’s agricultural agency are at odds over whether the state is doing enough to address deteriorating mental health of farmers facing a troubled livelihood.
Agriculture Secretary Brad Pfaff on Tuesday blasted Republicans’ decision not to release $100,000 worth of funding this week for mental health services for farmers.
“There’s no two ways about it: Republicans have chosen to leave farmers behind,” Pfaff said after Republican lawmakers on the finance committee rejected Democratic members’ request to vote on releasing the funding allocated in the state budget.
“As of today, (the Agriculture Department) has funding to provide just five more counseling vouchers to farmers in need of mental health care,” he continued. “If the Joint Finance Committee doesn’t want to move this funding forward immediately, then they have a choice to make: Which five farmers will it be?”
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald on Wednesday called Pfaff’s comments “offensive and unproductive.”
“Your flippant comments yesterday referring to farmer suicide is beneath your position and makes light of the seriousness of suicide,” Fitzgerald said. “Mental health can be something that people struggle with for years, if not their whole lives, and your statements about ‘abandoning our state’s farmers’ and ‘which five farmers’ should be saved does nothing other than to create division on a subject that matters to all legislators.”
GOP lawmakers on the finance committee chose not to put the release of the mental health funding on the agenda for a Tuesday meeting because they wanted additional information.
Democrats said the decision was leaving farmers who are facing one of the most stressful time in their careers without needed help.
Dairy farms — Wisconsin’s signature industry — are experiencing the most hardship.
Farm milk prices began plummeting in 2014 triggering a downturn, fueled by overproduction and failing export markets, lasting more than four years. It has wiped out dairy farms from Maine to California.
Wisconsin lost almost 700 dairy farms in 2018, an unprecedented rate of nearly two a day. As of Feb. 1, Wisconsin had 8,046 dairy herds, down 40% from 10 years earlier, according to state Department of Agriculture data.
Fitzgerald defended the committee’s decision, saying Republicans weren’t ignoring the problem by passing a number of bills increasing funding for mental health services in recent legislative sessions. He also said the problem will be further addressed through a task force convened by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos aimed at drafting legislation to address suicide prevention.
“If you truly care about farmers’ well-being, I hope that you will strive to work with legislators on addressing mental health in Wisconsin rather than releasing inflammatory statements,” Fitzgerald said to Pfaff.
Pfaff said he also wants to work with lawmakers but said the need for the $100,000 shouldn’t be put off any longer.
“I’m the head of the agency that regularly receives phone calls from farmers struggling to navigate the toughest economic conditions in recent memory,” Pfaff said. “I’ve logged a lot of miles since taking this position to meet with farmers in rural Wisconsin, and time and time again they tell me that times are tough.”