Farmers helping farmers
How stigma around mental health is changing in the agricultural industry
Throughout history, farming has been a demanding and often isolating profession which has required the utmost resilience.
But today, alongside the worries of unpredictable weather, rising costs, and long working hours, many farmers are facing another significant challenge: their mental health.
For too long, mental wellbeing has been a taboo subject which is often misunderstood within agricultural communities, with nearly two thirds of farmers saying they would not seek professional help if they experienced mental health problems, according to Farmers Guardian.
However, that silence is breaking.
Across the country, growing numbers of those in agricultural communities, alongside farmers' organisations, are speaking up by sharing their stories and raising awareness in the hope that it will lead to meaningful change.
"95% of young farmers (those under 40) believe that mental health is the biggest hidden problem facing farmers today."
Farm Safety Foundation
Facts and Figures
Statistics from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows that suicide rates amongst those in agricultural and related trades have, on average, increased over recent years.
Charities within the industry have in recent years been working to go beyond these numbers, and better understand how farmers are actually feeling.
In January 2021, the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI), a national charity which supports the UK farming community, launched the largest ever research project relating to the wellbeing of farming people.
The Big Farming Survey provides previously unknown statistics about mental health in farming communities as well as the reasons which could be behind any struggles.
The research breaks down certain statistics by age and/or gender, such as showing that women in the industry are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety than men.
One reason for the struggles are the long hours spent in isolated, rural areas.
According to the Farm Safety Foundation, a charity working to address the attitudes and behaviours to farm safety and poor mental health, the average farmer works almost double the weekly hours of the average full-time worker in the UK.
Even worse, nearly half of those aged between 41 and 60 years old work more than 81 hours a week, the majority of which they will be alone.
Combined with these long hours, the fact that farmers often live at work means they get very little break from their stress, and can go days without seeing or talking to anyone.
According to RABI, on average, almost a third of respondents to the Big Farming Survey hardly ever or never leave the farm.
Personal Experiences
“You can be the best farmer in the world and things can still go so wrong which can be really soul destroying.”
- Tilly Abbott
Tilly Abbott, a 24-year-old shepherd from Suffolk has worked in the agriculture industry for over seven years and has seen first-hand how mental health is affecting farmers.
She lost a close friend within the industry to suicide in December 2023, and has been open about her own mental health struggles, and how finding time for yourself as a farmer can be difficult.
Abbott explained that no matter how much you need to, at certain times of the year you simply cannot take time off and therefore people often push themselves until it is too late.
She said: “Someone has to lamb these sheep - I can’t just leave. You keep going because you have to… until you can’t.”
Recent years have been even harder than usual with adverse weather and political and international upheavals making it difficult for farmers to plan.
She said: “You can cope with one bad harvest but you can’t cope with five and that is what has happened to everyone at the moment, especially with COVID, Brexit and the Ukrainian War.”
Both Brexit and the Ukrainian War have led to labour shortages due to the industry's reliance on foreign seasonal workers.
Abbott is active within the community in pushing others to open up about mental health, and break the taboo which surrounds the topic.
She has been on BBC’s Countryfile and Adam Henson’s Keeping on track. A farmer’s wellbeing podcast talking about her experiences.
Abbott is not the only person aiming to eradicate the stigma around mental health amongst farmers, with many charities and organisations sharing her goal.
These groups, such as the Farming Community Network (FCN), often organise events where farmers and their families can come and talk with others in similar situations who can understand their difficulties.
Abbott believes it can be hard for those not within the industry to truly understand and sympathise with farmers and what they go through as part of their work.
She said: “As a result, every charity that I know of is run by farmers or by people who are related to some form of farming and are going out of their way to organise these events.”
"You can't leave things until tomorrow."
- Phil Watson
Another person who wants to remove the stigma for farmers around mental health is Phil Watson, the associate Head of department for agriculture at the University of Hartpury who has a history of working on dairy farms.
Watson, who is 59, has been witness to how farmers can be unwilling to discuss mental wellbeing.
He said: “Working within the industry, it wasn’t something which you could talk about in those days [the nineties].
“There is still a reluctance, particularly amongst the younger lads, to show any weakness so they will bottle things up."
Agreeing with Tilly’s statements that jobs cannot be left until tomorrow, he said: “Lambing, calving, any sort of field work has to be done when it needs to be done.”
However, Watson explained that things are slowly changing, and he believes around 2008 to be when he started to see a difference.
Now, he is using his position working with upcoming farmers to tackle the stigma and works with students on their resilience, but he still thinks more needs to be done.
He said: “It is all focussed on agricultural people talking to agricultural people and we need to bring in others who have more experience dealing with these issues to start to address it.”
Charities
The Farm Safety Foundation, also known as Yellow Wellies, has run an annual Mind Your Head campaign for the last eight years, which aims to raise awareness about mental health in the industry, and what resources for support are available.
Stephanie Berkeley, manager of the charity, explained that recent years have been particularly difficult for farmers, with rising costs, competition from supermarkets, pressure from cheaper imported goods, reduced subsidies and the weather all challenging farmers.
Berkeley said: “Regarding farming attitudes to mental health, as an industry we need to remember there is no shame and no stigma, but there is and should be more support.”
She reiterated once more the fact that it is farmers helping farmers, explaining how her charity is funded by farmers and events such as tractor runs, and called on the government to do more.
She said: “Farmers are fighting to preserve their livelihoods and our nation’s food independence so the government needs to start listening.
“They need to start creating a plan that is ambitious enough to end this mental health emergency.”
Regarding what the general public can do, Berkeley urged them to remember it is their fight too, and they should support local farmers and back British farming as much as they can.
Recent Events affecting Farmers
February 2020 - Wettest on Record
According to the MetOffice, the UK recorded 237% of the average rainfall for the month, with storms like Ciara and Dennis bringing widespread flooding to various parts of the country.
November 2021 - Storm Arwen
Winds of almost 100mph hit farms across the north of the country causing power outages and structural damage. Sheep farmers had to dig their flocks out of snow drifts and one farmer reported an estimated £70,000 worth of damage.
September 2022 - Avian Influenza Outbreak
3.2 million birds culled in the worst year for bird flu to date.
February 2022 - Ukraine War Begins
The outbreak of the war in Ukraine led to rising costs for farmers and a labour shortage. NFU President Minette Batters said that the cost of producing a chicken became twice what it was 12 months previously. Regarding the labour shortage, according to government statistics, 67% of the seasonal workers in the agricultural industry originated from Ukraine in a previous typical year.
October 2024 - Inheritance Tax Law Change
A change to inheritance tax announced in the Autumn budget shocked farmers and have led many small, family-owned businesses to worry as to how they will afford it.
2025 - Hottest and Sunniest Spring in over 100 years
The hottest and sunniest spring since 1893 has led to drought conditions with only 44% of average rainfall for the season.
Celebrities
In recent years, celebrities have been speaking out about mental health within farming as well.
Clarkson’s Farm has reached global recognition, and in the most recent season, mental wellbeing within the industry, and the barriers which farmers face, are discussed.
In one episode, when discussing his new pub, Jeremy Clarkson discusses with Kaleb Cooper the idea of setting up a place for farmer’s to come and be able to openly talk with each other.
Such a simple idea could have significant plus sides by reducing the rural isolation which faces so many.
Clarkson’s commitment to improving mental health standards is also highlighted by his beer brand Hawkstone’s partnership with Shout, a free, confidential and 24/7 mental health text service.
About the partnership, Clarkson said: “It could be worth sending a message, it’s better than suffering in silence.”
In March of this year, Prince William was announced as the new Patron of We Are Farming Minds, a Duchy supported Herefordshire-based charity, established to break the stigma surrounding mental health in the farming community.
The increasing support by celebrities, royals, and farmers themselves shows there is hope and things are changing, but there is definitely more work to be done.
"When you sit down to eat your meal, spare a thought for the hands that actually toiled to produce the food, appreciate the time, the energy and the effort that was invested in bringing that food from the farm to your table and what would happen if its put at risk."
Stephenie Berkeley
Manager of Farm Safety Foundation
If you, or anyone you know, has been affected by things in this article, help is available.
If your life is at imminent risk, please call 999 for immediate help.
Helpline: 0800 188 4444
Free, farming-focused services, available 24/7
Helpline: 03000 111 999
Calls will be answered in person from 7am-11pm every day of the year.
Helpline: 116 123
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Text the word ‘Shout’ to 85258
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