With a new face at the helm of Scotland’s farming charity, RSABI, Jimmy McLean is encouraging more individuals and businesses to support them as they help farmers and crofters through some challenging times that lie ahead.

We caught up with the new RSABI chair, to find out more about his own journey in the sector and to hear some of their plans for the coming months:

Jimmy was fascinated by farming from a young age, despite not coming from an agricultural background and went on to complete a degree in Agriculture at Edinburgh University. He began working life as an agricultural advisor, with what became SAC Consulting, working his way up to head of rural business.

“I worked with SAC Consulting for nearly 15 years and that’s where I really got introduced to some of the financial challenges facing farmers, regularly working with banks on individual cases. In the mid-1990s, I joined the Royal Bank of Scotland as head of agriculture and continued in that position when it took over NatWest.”

Jimmy recounted working with farmers to build back credibility in the sector following the financial crisis in 2008 and the insight it gave him into farming, during a particularly difficult period.

In 2016, he retired and became more involved with his smallholding in the Scottish Borders and to spend more time supporting the agricultural sector in a different capacity.

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“When I was working in banking, it was a very commercial environment, but I was always very aware that running the farm businesses were people who were dedicated and skilled, but the nature of farming could leave them vulnerable to loneliness and stress, especially when times were hard.

“Throughout my working career, I was aware of the invaluable work RSABI was doing with farmers. I greatly admired the people working in that sector, especially their attitude and dedication, so when I hung up my banking boots, I applied to be a trustee and I’ve been pleased to undertake that role since 2017.”

Farming uncertainty

Since becoming a trustee, Jimmy explained that he had not only developed more of an understanding of the intricacies of how the organisation worked but has come to understand more deeply some of the challenges facing farmers and crofters.

“We have witnessed some real uncertainty in the sector in recent years and since I joined the board, Brexit has been an ongoing issue. There has always been uncertainty in farming but being part of a big trading bloc, often meant farmers felt more protected from world markets, and to a degree, politically supported," he said.

"The political voice in Europe is quite strong and now having withdrawn from that arena, we are left reliant on national support from our own governments and there is still uncertainty about the nature of support going forward.

“At RSABI, we understand the impact this uncertainty is having on farmers, both on a financial and emotional level and want to be able to support them to navigate some of the challenges ahead.”

Mental health initiatives

He explained how RSABI has changed over time, from being a charity which predominantly stepped in to support farmers falling into hard financial times, to focussing a lot more on offering emotional and practical support.

“One of the strengths of being a farmer is an ability to get on and fix things themselves, but this can also be a weakness – as when things go wrong that self-reliance means they don’t share the pressures they are facing.

“There is now a growing recognition that it is okay to say you are not okay, and we are constantly looking at further ways to help people to identify signals in others, that they might be struggling,” he added.

Over the last two months, RSABI, in partnership with IED Training – founded by former Royal Marines – has launched a new mental health first aid training initiative for Scottish agriculture.

“We have been running a series of pilots, focused on those individuals and organisations who are engaging with farmers regularly, for example, assessors who are going on to farm and into situations where they could pick up on indicators that an individual is struggling.

"Participants will be trained to develop the skills to start a conversation and to be able to direct people to appropriate professional help. We have been delighted with the feedback from the initial sessions and we’re starting to roll this out more widely.”

Another piece of work RSABI is involved in is rolling out the Thrive Mental Wellbeing app, to Young Farmers, as part of a pilot scheme working initially with three SAYFC clubs.

The app is offering the Young Farmers the opportunity to learn more about their own mental health and develop the skills to manage periods of poor mental health. Users can also log how they are feeling and this is monitored remotely, with the ability for someone to step in and offer support from a trained therapist, if any red flags are raised.

Demand for services

Since April, 2022, RSABI recorded 8000 interactions with individuals – some on a frequent basis – and during that same time, demand from people coming to RSABI for counselling services had doubled.

“At the moment, waiting times for counsellors via the NHS are lengthy and we can provide counselling services much more quickly and cover the cost for the first block of sessions.”

“Demand is also growing for our ‘Help for Heating’ grants and since April last year, we have spent £33k on supporting individuals with increased energy costs.”

He added that their 24/7 helpline handled an average of around 200 calls a month (incoming and outgoing) and predicted this is likely to increase as the pressures facing the industry begin to reach more critical levels this year.

Fundraising

RSABI depends heavily on donors to continue to provide their work and as well as individual fundraising events which take place throughout the year and Jimmy explained that one of the areas they are keen to focus on, is driving up membership of their Supporters’ Schemes.

“We know there is going to be a lot of pressure facing farmers and crofters in the months ahead and consistency of income, allows us to really plan and increase the capacity we have to support individuals. Our Supporters’ Schemes run across three levels: individual, business, and corporate, and we currently have around 750 members.

"We would like to encourage more individuals and businesses to consider taking out an annual membership, to allow us to really build on the support we can deliver long-term.”

RSABI team

“We are incredibly lucky with the strength of our staff team under Carol McLaren’s leadership, who punch way above their weight," said Jimmy.

"We also have an excellent board of trustees, who bring with them a great balance of skills and knowledge across a range of areas, such as financial and legal expertise, counselling skills and PR expertise. We all find common ground on our concern for the sector and it is probably one of the most proactive and positive boards I have engaged with.”

Commenting on taking on the chair from David Leggat, he added: “David is a brilliant ambassador for RSABI. He has tremendous concern for the sector and our thanks go to him for being an excellent, inclusive chair, with an extensive agricultural network which always came in very handy.

“I’m really looking forward to being at the helm of RSABI in the months ahead and know that with the support of our brilliant board, staff and dedicated network of volunteers, we will continue to raise awareness of the services we offer and build on our capacity to support more individuals in need.”