Mental Health

Rural charities have issued a plea for up-to-date data on suicide risk in order to protect vulnerable farmers. Charlie Hawes reports.

Farming charities could see a surge in demand as the reality of policy change and soaring inputs starts to hit home, sector chiefs have warned.

FINANCIAL pressures from rising input costs, the transition away from direct payments and the cost of living crisis were likely to hit farmers’ mental health in an industry which is already facing high levels of poor mental health.

Farmers are no longer encouraging their children to follow in their footsteps as they do not want them to suffer the same pressures they are currently facing, MPs have been told.

The Environment Agency has taken steps to ensure farmers’ mental health is considered when enforcement action is pursued.

A Cumbrian farmer looking to lose weight is donating the money he would have spent on unnecessary food to the Farming Community Network (FCN) charity. 

A 130-mile egg and spoon relay has raised more than £6,000 for the mental health charity You Are Not Alone (YANA).

This week is Mental Health Awareness week (May 9 – 15) where people in the UK are encouraged to raise awareness of mental health issues and help break the stigma that still surrounds mental health.

Three young farmers have completed a 29-hour milking marathon, raising more than £3,000 for the Farm Safety Foundation (FSF).

A lack of appreciation of the importance of food production in Government and wider society is fuelling a mental health crisis among farmworkers, according to industry experts.