Crop losses in Indiana due to drought and excess rain cost taxpayers and farmers more than $3 billion in crop insurance payouts since 1995.

The Indiana State Department of Agriculture is partnering with the Indiana Rural Health Association and Purdue Extension to reduce mental health stigma in farm communities and connect people to stress assistance programs.

One concern farmers are increasingly worried about is higher costs for fertilizer, machinery and other expenses. These input prices have survey respondents hesitant about their future financial outlook.

While not all applicants have been accepted, one member says the program is overall an improvement.

Farmers are feeling less optimistic about the future following the November elections. The latest Ag Economy Barometer showed a sharp shift in expectations that U.S. agriculture will face unfavorable policies over the next five years.

Legislation passed earlier this year allows the organization to create and offer health plans to its members, including sole proprietors.

Studies have found the rates of mental illness and suicide are higher for farmers. They work long hours, have limited social contact and are at the mercy of factors such as weather. Now, as bankruptcies of family farms rise significantly in the Midwest and across the nation, the COVID-19 pandemic is creating even greater challenges to their livelihood -- and mental health.

Many Indiana farmers want more health care options. On Wednesday, they got closer to that goal.

Farmers across the Midwest are facing tight profit margins and rising healthcare costs. In response, the Indiana Farm Bureau wants lawmakers to allow it to create its own group health plan.

The organization presented its top legislative priority over the weekend: expanding health benefits available to the agriculture industry in the state.