LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — After Michigan cut funding for a farmer suicide prevention program this fall, lawmakers from both parties are asking whether the savings were worth the risk.

Reps. Matt Beirlein (R-Vassar) and Jasper Martus (D-Flushing) sent a letter to House and Senate appropriations chairs asking for the program’s return in a future supplemental budget. The request follows reporting showing that farming ranks among Michigan’s deadliest professions when it comes to suicide.

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The Legacy of the Land program, run through Michigan State University Extension, previously provided free counseling and stress-management support to farmers and their families. That funding expired earlier this year, leaving participants to pay out of pocket for services that cost about $150 per session.

“We need to look at this as lifesaving medical treatment, because that’s what it is,” Beirlein said, 

The program funded more than 550 counseling visits statewide since 2020. Whether lawmakers will revive the funding remains uncertain.