Farming and mental health: the challenge

This Autumn our team arranged an engagement opportunity at Gilfach Nature Reserve near Rhayader aimed at the farming community. It was called “Ramble with a Big Cheese.”

The invitation went out on social media and we put up as many posters as we could in places where we hoped to attract the attention of farmers. These included Rhayader market, feed merchants and numerous shops and businesses in the neighbouring area. We rang round our own contacts. We made new contacts. We spoke to people very closely connected to the farming community through their families and work. We encouraged all of them to spread the word about the session (many of them did – thank you!) and wondered if they would like to come along themselves. 

In the event, despite our efforts, we really struggled to encourage individual farmers or members of the farming community to join us. And again and again we were told – farmers are too busy, they only leave their farms to go to market, some of them really are struggling with their emotional wellbeing but they don’t want to talk to anyone else about their problems. People of the farming community are extremely hard to reach.

A couple of months previously the Farmers’ Union of Wales had hosted an event called “It’s OK to say” at this year’s Royal Welsh Show – “putting the spotlight on mental health in the farming community”. My colleague Anne attended and told us she was impressed by the level of interest. She was interested to find out more about the Pembrokeshire based charity the DPJ Foundation which was “set up in July 2016 following the death of Daniel Picton-Jones. The foundation aims to support people in rural communities with poor mental health, especially men in the agricultural sector. Agriculture carries one of the highest rates of suicide and with mental health being such a big problem across society the foundation aims to break down the stigma that surrounds mental health and provide support services for those in rural communities.”

On our Mid Powys Ramble we were really pleased to welcome Aled Jones from the Farmers’ Union of Wales (Brecknock and Radnorshire Officer) and David Williams from the Farming Community Network. We posed a number of questions to stimulate discussion with the “Big Cheeses” - Joy Garfitt (Deputy Director for Mental Health, Powys Teaching Health Board) and Margaret Meredith, (Head of Primary Care South Powys, PTHB). It turned out to be an extremely fruitful exercise. The start of a much-needed ongoing discussion.

There will be no one way to provide support to individuals in the farming community around mental wellbeing. Statutory mental health services might meet one person’s needs but be entirely inappropriate for another. Community activities and voluntary sector support, such as that provided in Pembrokeshire by the DPJ Foundation, will probably play an important role. But whatever services are delivered, we want farmers to have their say in how they are shaped.

If you have a few minutes, watch the video and find out why.

If you need support now, contact the Farming Community Network or the Samaritans.