A young farmer from Cornwall who uses his own experiences of mental health issues to help others has won NFYFC's Farm Safety Award.
James Hosking, from Camelford YFC, has been recognised at the annual awards event after sharing his own mental health struggles with other farmers.
His commitment to encouraging support for rural people struggling with their mental wellbeing has spanned nearly 10 years.
The award is part of NFYFC’s annual YFC Achiever Awards, which recognise the achievements of young farmers during the previous membership year.
James, who is an area manager for B H White & Son in Cornwall and Devon, shared his story in a video for NFYFC’s Rural+ campaign, which has been shown at YFCs across England and Wales.
He has taken part in campaigns such as the Farm Safety Foundation’s Mind Your Head campaign to help raise awareness of mental health issues.
James said: “I was really shocked to win. Mental health is important in rural communities and it’s come a long way in ten years.
“We’ve got to be different. I started talking one day and it happened to be that somebody out there decided to listen – it snowballed from there.
“I’ve been doing this for so long now that sharing my story and trying to help people is just a part of my life now.”
Mental health and isolation are big issues in the rural community, with the judges saying they were impressed with James’s commitment to raising awareness.
Stephanie Berkeley, manager at the Farm Safety Foundation who judged the award, said: “Many people and clubs use the power of social media to share key safety messages, but there could only be one winner.
"His strength and resilience have been inspirational and his message that there is no shame, no stigma but there is support echoes as true today as it did a decade ago when he started his campaigning.”
Who were the other award winners?
The Farm Safety Award was one of eight awards presented on 11 February, which included hundreds of young farmers from across England and Wales.
The other Achiever Award winners were:
• Heart of YFC, sponsored Karcher UK – Jessica Rose, Nottinghamshire
• Entrepreneur of the Year, sponsored by KUHN, Matt Ingram, Warwickshire
• Community Spirit, sponsored by Tama, Uwchaled YFC, Clwyd
• Community Supporter of the Year, Hollie, Leicestershire
• YFC Supporter of the Year, Michael Bailey, Hampshire
• New Member of the Year, sponsored by Eternit, Dave Odell, Warwickshire
• Aspiring Rural Leader, sponsored by Savills, Jamie Pottow, Wiltshire
