Young farmers blame safety risk of sector for poor mental health

A MAJORITY of young farmers in the UK believe poor mental health is the biggest danger facing the industry.

Risks associated with farming were also blamed by workers as the main cause of mental health problems such as stress, anxiety and depression among those working in agriculture.

Farming continues to have the poorest safety record of any occupation in the UK, with a fatal injury rate about 18 times higher than the average across all industrial sectors.

Most of the young farmers surveyed (85 per cent ) said they believe there is a definite link between mental health and the overall safety of farms.

The findings emerged in research by farm safety charity, Farm Safety Foundation, which will launch its third annual Mind Your Head campaign today.

The survey also found 84% of farmers under the age of 40 believe mental health is the biggest danger facing the industry today, up from 81% in 2018.

Loneliness, post-traumatic stress disorder and rural isolation were also highlighted as issues affecting young farmers.

Stephanie Berkeley, manager of the Farm Safety Foundation, said: “It is encouraging to see more discussions about mental health, more awareness of the various mental health conditions and more emphasis on the support available to the farming community, but more still needs to be done.

“While farmers are often culturally ill-equipped to discuss mental health issues, one of the most effective methods in combating stigma is talking about it. 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, conversely, how poor mental health can have a direct and deadly impact on the job.”

Previous figures indicated that, on average, at least one farmer a week in the UK is taking their own life – the highest suicide rate among any occupation.

Concerns about the links between the sector’s high suicide rate, workplace dangers and mental health are also being explored in a project currently underway at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, which is interviewing farmers about their experiences and will put forward recommendations to improve mental welfare.

Speaking as the research was launched a year ago, Professor Kay Cooper, of RGU’S School of Health Sciences, said: “We know farmers and others working in the agriculture sector regularly experience distress, anxiety and depression, which, in turn, are related to greater risk of injury.

“Recent figures from the Office For National Statistics show the suicide rate of farmers is at a worrying level – with, on average, one farmer committing suicide each week in the UK.

“Aside from the personal impact, poor mental wellbeing has a significant economic cost, with the World Health Organisation recently estimating the global burden at £34.9 billion.”

The Farm Safety Foundation said those working in agriculture are under increasing pressure from spending extended amounts of time in isolation, a blurring between work and home life, and financial uncertainty.

Brexit, changing consumer habits, and the climate crisis also present further threats to the industry, it said.

The total income in the UK from farming decreased by £971 million between 2017 and 2018, and 42% of UK farmers would have made a loss between 2014 and 2017 without direct payments from the European Union.

This year’s Mind Your Head campaign, which runs until Friday, will focus on the physical and mental wellbeing of an industry under pressure.

It aims to educate those living and working in the UK’S agricultural communities about mental health dangers such as “smiling depression”, PTSD, loneliness, rural isolation, and the risk to young farmers in particular.

Ms Berkeley said: “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.”

Farmers are often culturally ill-equipped to discuss mental health issues