Mental Health 'biggest hidden problem' facing farmers
91% of UK farmers rank poor mental health as one of the biggest hidden dangers in the industry
We're hearing that long hours and uncertainty in the industry could be harming the mental health of farmers across the East Midlands.
A study by the Farm Safety Foundation found 91% of UK farmers rank poor mental health as one of the biggest hidden dangers in the industry.
Joe Stanley, the Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire County Chair for the National Farmers' Union tells us more about how serious this is:
"I do think there's still an element of stigma
"Unfortunately, the statistics are that one farmer a week are taking their life, and we're probably losing one farmer every 10 days to an accident at work and a lot of those are actually driven by poor mental health, so this is a really big issue.
"Agriculture, farming... I do think there's still an element of stigma attached to talking about mental health within the industry. It's quite small and quite a macho industry so sometimes these things can go unaddressed."
He added that some parts of the job could also be a factor:
"The big problem with agriculture as well is it's a very lonely occupation, you know if you went back 60 years on my farm, there may have been 20 people working on it, then 30 years ago there would have been probably 10 whereas today there's just one person working on that farm so it leaves you a lot of time to be alone with your thoughts.
"Especially during harvest time, the hours are very long and it's not uncommon to work more than 100 hours a week. A mixed farm such as mine has an average working week time of 70 or 80 hours, so you're working for a very long time and often for very low returns."
The Farm Safety Foundation say the reality of a farmer’s life is that there are multiple reasons identified as contributing to poor mental health in the industry.
The known pressures on farmers - including traditional farm stressors, contextual stressors and barriers to support, coupled with the impact of measures announced in the Autumn budget - are leading to increased levels of stress and uncertainty in the farming community.
Recent months have seen farmers travel from their fields to the front of the Houses of Parliament and supermarket car parks to show their frustration at the new wave of tax measures being introduced in April 2026. Measures that are increasing levels of uncertainty and anxiety and adding serious concerns about an uncertain future for the industry and food production in the country.
The proposals for farmers has been introduced by Labour, who insist it will not make a U-turn on its plans to introduce a 20% inheritance tax rate on farms worth more than £1 million.
The changes announced in the Budget scrap an exemption which meant no inheritance tax was paid to pass down family farms.
A government spokesperson previously said:
“Our commitment to farmers remains steadfast.
“This Government will invest £5 billion into farming over the next two years, the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history. We are going further with reforms to boost profits for farmers by backing British produce and reforming planning rules on farms to support food production.
“Our reform to Agricultural and Business Property Relief will mean estates will pay a reduced effective inheritance tax rate of 20%, rather than standard 40%, and payments can be spread over 10 years, interest-free. This is a fair and balanced approach, which fixes the public services we all rely on, affecting around 500 estates a year.”
The charity’s research showed that, on average, farmers worked longer hours in 2024 than they did in 2023. The average number of hours a full-time worker in the UK works per week is 36.4 hours, however UK farmers work an average of 60 hours a week with an alarming 44% of those aged between 41 and 60 years working more than 81 hours a week.
Multiple reasons identified as contributing to poor mental health in the industry
1 in 3 farmers (33%) who work more than 9 hours a day admit to having had an accident or a near miss in the past 12 months demonstrating the link between long hours and working safely. When mental wellbeing is factored in, the evidence revealed that farmers with lower mental wellbeing scores were significantly more likely to admit to working unsafely and risk-taking, something that raises alarm bells with the Farm Safety Foundation, especially as their research shows that the levels of mental wellbeing in those working in the industry have been steadily deteriorating over the past four years.
In the industry with the poorest safety record of any occupation in the UK, making sure farmers are prioritising their physical and mental wellbeing can be a matter of life or death. According to the Health & Safety Executive 23 farm workers lost their lives in farm accidents in GB in 2023/2024. There were also 44 suicides registered in England and Wales among the farming and agricultural industry in 2022.
To find out more about the Farm Safety Foundation, visit their website here.
If you need support you can call Samaritans for free on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or visit www.samaritans.org for more information.
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