"Wellbeing hubs" could be set up to combat farmer suicides
Nine out of ten farmers rank poor mental health as their biggest concern
A farmer from Essex says he supports the idea of setting up "wellbeing hubs" across rural England to help tackle high rates of farmer suicide.
Nine out of ten farmers rank poor mental health as biggest concern
Research by the Farm Safety Foundation charity shows nine out of ten farmers rank poor mental health as their biggest concern.
The same research also found 94% of farmers under 40 cited mental ill health as their biggest worry – a rise of 10% since 2018 - and 84% of farmers over 40 felt the same.
It's also believed that factors including Brexit, the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and climate change have all added pressure to the industry.
In response, charities are setting up hubs in rural parts of the country to try and help those feeling lonely and in need of support.
What do Essex farmers think?
Robert Graham is an arable farmer who has been farming cereal crops in the Lee Valley since the 1980s.
Robert and his family have also diversified their income stream by now hosting events such as weddings on the land.
Potential factors
He told us why he thinks so many farmers struggle with poor mental health: "To my way of thinking, there are two major factors. There is the feeling of isolation because there are not many farmers, and there is also the the issue of financial pressure.
"Farming is an industry which goes up and down, sometimes you're under a lot of financial pressure, then you have good years and it doesn't feel so bad.
"Because many farm businesses are generational, the classic family farm, each generation feels a burden. That they are letting down the previous generations when things go wrong", he said.
"And many people, I think, feel isolated. They might have neighbours and friends who they see who are not farmers, and they perhaps don't feel like speaking to them. They don't want to admit that things aren't so good. Everybody likes to keep up appearances.
"Even within the farming community, nobody likes to admit that things aren't going well", he added.