Focus on broadband, mental health: Lieutenant governor addresses Farm Bureau state convention

FRENCH LICK, Ind. — Indiana is investing in access to broadband and mental health care services, said Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch at the Indiana Farm Bureau State Convention.

“This year, while the harvest was long, the yields were good and the prices were good. But we always know that there are challenges facing us in the future and we know that prices, supply chain, fertilizer prices, are going up and that will bear on what we do in the future,” said Crouch, Indiana’s secretary of agriculture and rural development.

“Together with the Department of Agriculture, we will work to overcome any of those challenges,” she said.

“We are looking to the future of Indiana — and the future of Indiana includes agriculture.”

Broadband Access

Gov. Eric Holcomb and state officials are focused on expanding high-speed, high-quality broadband throughout Indiana, Crouch said.

In 2019, Indiana invested $100 million to improve internet access for rural residents. This year, the state’s General Assembly allocated an additional $250 million for that effort.

Crouch noted INFB is now partnering with the lieutenant governor’s office to implement a speed test to determine where the gaps — and, in turn, the needs — exist. Hoosiers are encouraged to check their connections at www.infb.org/speedtest.

That information will be used to map real-time internet speeds and pinpoint the areas of the state that are most in need of reliable, affordable access to broadband service. The test takes less than a minute to complete, and no personal information is collected.

“We will continue to work with you until every Hoosier to the last mile is connected, no matter how long it takes or how much it costs, because your future depends on that,” said Crouch, eliciting applause from INFB members gathered in-person at the convention in French Lick.

Mental Health

During the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns about mental health and substance use have grown, Crouch lamented.

She recalled talking with the governor about their priorities for the next four years, following the election in November 2020. She told him that she wanted to focus on mental health and addiction.

“The human cost of this pandemic is huge and it’s going to exponentially grow for years to come and not just the cost to our families, but the cost to our budgets whether in the public or the private sector,” she said.

“I travel all 92 counties and when I talk to school superintendents, teachers, Boy Scout leaders, Girl Scout leaders, anyone who deals with our young people, they will share with me that the amount of panic, anxiety, depression, suicide ideation, acting on suicide and self harm is greater than they’ve ever seen among our young people.”

Before the pandemic, 1 out of 5 Hoosiers struggled with mental illness or addition, Crouch said.

“We all know someone with those challenges,” she said, noting her mother suffered from depression, her sister committed suicide and her brother is an alcoholic.

“Those Hoosiers who inherited genes that predispose them to these conditions or those Hoosiers who find themselves in a difficult, challenging time deserve the services and the support that we can give them.”

Crouch announced that the Indiana State Department of Agriculture received a $500,000 grant to be able to conduct 23 workshops throughout Indiana next year focused on mental health within the agricultural community. INFB members again applauded the news.

ISDA is partnering with the Indiana Rural Health Association and Purdue Extension to reduce mental health stigma and connect individuals engaged in agriculture-related occupations to existing stress assistance programs, Crouch said.

“We want to be able to give our farming families the resources they need so that if you see a friend or a family member who is struggling you know how to get them help and support and hope that everyone takes advantage of these workshops so that we can help each other because I know that regardless of the challenges that we face, we can meet and defeat any challenge by acting with purpose and support and love,” she said.

The grant was provided by the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network, a program of the National Institute for Food and Agriculture, an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

For a list of regional meetings and locations, visit indianaruralhealth.org.