Mental Health in Farming

With my articles over the last week, I have played close attention to Mental Health and specifically the impacts on isolation. Now, something which I want to focus on is isolated sectors in rural Suffolk. The isolated primary industry is that of farming. Agriculture is both an industry which has given me a great deal of opportunity and experiences.

Still, I would be remised if I said that you did not notice the effects of being disconnected from many outside of your farm. Now my experience was only brief, often seeing and visiting many farms which Faccenda Foods had ownership of or were contracting out their growing of broiler chickens. Now, although many of my experiences was visiting a variety of farms from large industrial sites with bungalows or living areas for the manager as well as maybe an assistant on-site, this was not often the case for smaller farms where the need for a second staff member on-site was not as justified fiscally. Now the farmers often had family members on the site where their kids and spouse often worked or studied offsite. The farmer primarily stayed on-site for the crop's duration, taking the odd day off throughout the six to seven-week cycle. When off relief staff would work on-site by travelling from other areas to cover the staff member temporarily, and when the site was being prepared for the next crop they would often take the opportunity to holiday away from the site. This chance to leave the area is usually not possible on the traditional farming business. When the land is not working or being prepared for work, it still needs management or other maintenance. Therefore this leaves the farmers working tirelessly for our communities year-round which is both a service and calling which many would not trade.

Now farming is quoted as having one of the worst safety records, which is exaggerated by the number of time farmers spend working in isolation. The larger farms will often see collaboration between owner and employee or generally between generations. Smaller sites are may be unable to justify offering work outside the family and if there is no one within the household to assist then the work can be more isolating. The long hours in the fields tied with the many hats they have to wear; mechanic, accountant, weatherman, and engineer. Now when your livelihood and to an extent your history is deeply rooted in your land, the looming financial uncertainty is a deep concern. With the risks around changes to income and direct payments changes looming post-Brexit, the stress can be too much for those with no one to talk again. This is why the work that charities such as YANA do is so valuable and the results of educators like myself to highlight these groups to the next generation is critical. The Mind Your Head campaign, which I will discuss later this week, needs to be shared and continually championed. After all, although we see shifts in our habits or dietary preferences and sometimes are attitudes, we need to remember the differences in our communities highlight them and ensure that we all continue to move forward together.