West farmers sought to open up for new study

WESTCOUNTRY farmers are being urged to open up about their experiences of social isolation and loneliness as part of a new research project led by the University of Exeter.

Working together with the charity Farming Community Network (FCN), researchers are looking to interview 10 to 15 farmers and their families in Devon and Cornwall to better understand how different aspects of a farmer’s work, life and physical environment can lead to them experiencing greater feelings of stress, anxiety and loneliness.

As well as exploring how social isolation, loneliness and mental health issues within the farming community are experienced and managed, the study aims to help improve the support available.

Matt Lobley, Professor of Rural Resource Management and Director of the Centre for Rural Policy Research (CRPR) at the University of Exeter, which will carry out the research, said: “Changes in farming over a number of decades mean it is an increasingly solitary and lonely activity. Wider societal changes also mean that farmers and members of farming families can experience social and cultural isolation. For some this isn’t necessarily a problem but for others it can be associated with deteriorating well-being and mental health issues.

“At a time when the mental wellbeing of the farming community is a topic of increasing interest and awareness, this research will help us understand more about pathways from social isolation and loneliness to mental health issues and will help to inform future interventions to support farming families.”

During the project, which has been supported by the Loneliness and Social Isolation in Mental Health Research Network, funded by UK Research and Innovation, Exeter researchers will work in partnership with FCN to ensure that the research is sensitively designed and that any recommendations for more support are applicable.

Through its 400 volunteers and its national helpline (03000 111 999), FCN provides practical and pastoral help and support to farming families in England and Wales. Earlier this year, the charity helped to launch two short films featuring farmers who have experienced mental illhealth and initially struggled to ask for help. These included ‘The Hill Farmer’ featuring Exmoor-based Oliver Edwards, telling his story of dealing with pressures on the farm at the same time as battling a diagnosis of colon cancer. In the film, Oliver admits having suicidal thoughts.

Dr Jude McCann, chief executive of the FCN, added that the charity regularly hears from farmers and their families experiencing a range of issues which require different approaches and recommendations. “We hope this research will help to better understand these experiences and will inform interventions for how to improve the support that is available to those in need,” he added. ■ If you are a farmer and would like to be interviewed as part of this research, please email Rebecca Wheeler on R.Wheeler3@exeter. ac.uk. In addition to its confidential national helpline, the FCN also has an e-helpline (help@fcn.org.uk) which is open every day of the year from 7am-11pm.