A campaign focusing on the mental wellbeing of farmers has launched today as figures show 83 people working in agriculture and the wider sector took their own lives in 2018.
The annual Mind Your Head campaign will focus on the physical and mental wellbeing of an industry under pressure.
It also aims to educate those living and working in the UK’s agricultural communities about the various mental health threats facing them.
This year’s campaign, spearheaded by charity Farm Safety Foundation, will bring public attention to issues such as ‘smiling depression’, PTSD, loneliness, rural isolation and mental health in young farmers.
It comes as recently-published figures show that 83 people working in agricultural and related trades in England and Wales took their own lives in 2018.
These trades include gardeners, horticulturalists, fishermen and women, forestry workers, grounds workers and greenkeepers as well as farmers and farm workers.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has also identified stress, depression and anxiety as some the main causes of work-related ill health for farmers.
But the issue of mental health in the industry is quickly gaining attention, according to a new study by the Farm Safety Foundation.
More than three-quarters (84%) of farmers under the age of 40 believe that mental health is the biggest danger facing the industry today, up from 81% in 2018.
Meanwhile, 85% of young farmers believe there is a definite link between mental health and the overall safety of farms.
The farming industry faces many stress factors, which are placing increasing pressure on workers and putting them at greater risk of mental ill health.
These include extended amounts of time working in isolation, a blurring between work and home life, and financial uncertainty.
Meanwhile, Brexit, changing consumer habits, and the climate crisis present further threats to the industry.
Despite this, Stephanie Berkeley, Manager of the Farm Safety Foundation, said it is encouraging to see more discussions and awareness about mental health.
However, more still needs to be done: “Whilst farmers are often culturally ill-equipped to discuss mental health issues, one of the most effective methods in combating stigma is talking about it,” she explained.
“This is what we have been doing and will continue to push, especially this Mind Your Head week.
“It is vital to build a culture within agriculture that explicitly recognises how the job can impact on the wellbeing of farmers and their families and how poor mental health can have a direct and deadly impact on the job.
“Let’s be clear, this isn’t someone else's responsibility, this is on our watch and, in these challenging times, it’s down to each and every one of us to look out for our friends, colleagues, neighbours and ourselves.”
Rising concern over the continuing high level of fatal and life-changing injury accidents on farms prompted rural insurer NFU Mutual to set up the Farm Safety Foundation in 2014.
Those seeking more information on how to tackle poor mental health in the industry can visit the charity's website.
