IN AN industry that continues to have the poorest safety record of any occupation in the UK, making sure that farmers look after their physical and mental wellbeing has never been more relevant.

So this week, the Farm Safety Foundation – also known as Yellow Wellies – will launch its fifth annual 'Mind Your Head' campaign to illustrate actions being taken to break down mental health barriers in farming.

A recent study by the Foundation revealed that mental health issues among farmers and agricultural workers continue to be of concern, and are having a direct impact on safety on farms. No less than 92% of farmers under the age of 40 suggested that poor mental health was the biggest hidden problem facing farmers today – an increase from 82% in 2018.

In an industry where 34 farm workers lost their lives in fatal farm incidents in 2020/2021, there were a total of 44 suicides registered in England and Wales by those working in the farming and agricultural industry in 2020 according to the Office of National Statistics. According to Professor Louis Appleby, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Manchester and Chair of the national advisory group on suicide prevention at the Department of Health and Social Care: “Figures like these are important in understanding the tragedy of suicide. They are not dry data, they are real lives lost, real families devastated. No figure, whether high or low, is acceptable."

FSF manager Stephanie Berkeley said: “As an industry, I think it is time we deal with the issue of poor mental health head on. We need to talk about our feelings and let everyone living and working in farming know that it’s completely ok to have feelings, good and bad, but it's also important to let them out. Life isn’t always as it seems, we don’t post on social media about the days that we wished we didn’t get out of bed or the days we didn’t feel like it.

"Most people feel the pressure to keep up with everyone’s ‘perfect’ life. My father always advised me to never judge anyone unless you walked in their shoes, these are words that I live by, as it is important to know what is really going on behind the smile, or even their grumpy demeanour. Many living and working in rural communities are suffering and doing so in silence. As an industry, it’s time to ease the pressure, stop expecting people to be perfect and start talking openly about feelings with people you trust.”

The recent RABI Big Farming Survey revealed that 36% of the farming community in the UK are ‘probably’ or ‘possibly’ depressed and sadly, the stigma around mental health often prevents those who need help from seeking it. So key farming organisations from five countries will join forces to support the Foundation’s Mind Your Head campaign and try to dispel the myths and tackle the stigma around poor mental health in the industry and highlight the wealth of support available to those living and working in farming.

BBC’s Strictly winner, actor Kelvin Fletcher, who last year bought a 120-acre farm in the Peak District, is supporting the 2022 Mind Your Head campaign. As a new entrant to the industry, Kelvin appreciates the many challenges facing farmers at present and the importance of looking after your mental wellbeing at work.

He said: “I feel really privileged to have been welcomed so warmly by the farming community, who have supported me so much since I started my farm last year. Before joining farming, I had no idea the community was so heavily impacted by bad mental health. Campaigns like Mind Your Head are so important if we’re going to chip away at the stigma that surrounds mental illness in the industry. If one person reads about Mind Your Head and decides to reach out or to check in on a loved one, that’s a step in the right direction. Please, be that person and start the conversation. You never know how much it could mean to someone struggling silently.”

For more information on the Mind Your Head campaign or to learn more about how the Farm Safety Foundation is tackling the issue of poor mental health in the agricultural industry, visit www.yellowwellies.org or follow them on social media - @yellowwelliesUK on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube using the hashtag #MindYourHead