Public service programs delivered by Washington State University to support the mental health of those in the agricultural industry and to detect and monitor the spread of animal diseases were presented on during a work session before the Senate Agricultural and Natural Resources Committee on Monday afternoon.
In the first of two presentations, WSU Skagit County Extension agents Don McMoran and Maddy Vanderkooy shared about the Western Regional Agricultural Stress Assistance Program. Funded by a USDA Stress Assistance grant, the program provides practical resources for farmers and farm workers including a 24-hour support hotline, access to Farm Aid resources including legal assistance or an agricultural economist at low or no cost, and a website collating resources by zip code.
“WSU Extension is the state’s frontline delivery system, our Extension agents throughout the state are very trusted individuals,” shared Vanderkooy, the program coordinator. “Farmers want to come to us, ask us questions, and get advice. So having these resources for when those tougher conversations come up about suicide prevention and mental health prevention, having trained staff has been really beneficial.”
You can watch the full presentation from McMoran and Vanderkooy on WSU’s efforts here.
Kevin Snekvik, Executive Director of the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory presented later in the committee’s work session. The lab is housed within WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine and is the state’s tool in detecting and monitoring animal borne diseases. In his presentation, Snekvik listed examples of testing services the lab provides for a variety of purposes, including for interstate and international trade of animal products ranging from cattle to shellfish, for foreign animal diseases such as avian influenza, and for food safety such as salmonella or listeria in eggs and meat.
The lab, with locations in Pullman and Puyallup, is the only accredited veterinary medical lab in Washington state. It works closely with the Washington State Department of Agriculture and the National Animal Health Laboratory Network to monitor to speed up detection, notification, and monitoring of disease outbreaks. For instance, Snekvik referenced the spread of avian influenza which began on the East Coast. “We could literally watch it move across the United States, as laboratory after laboratory went positive. We can then talk to producers to give them a heads up that there’s a situation.”
You can watch Snekvik’s full presentation here.