LIVING well is the key to farming well and leading farm safety charity, the Farm Safety Foundation is highlighting the importance of farmers looking after their mental health in the second Mind Your Head Week (February 11-15).

There are a number of mental health risk factors associated with agriculture. Farmers work long hours, often in isolation.

They can be under significant financial pressure, often required to take on significant debt just to purchase the land and equipment required to operate. And in most cases, a farmer’s place of business is also his or her home, meaning there is no easy way to get away from the workload.

In addition, farmers are constantly vulnerable to unusual events and circumstances that can impact their bottom line and stress levels - from weather and natural disasters to major uncertainties like Brexit.

Farm Safety Foundation is asking the farming community to Mind Your Head with a campaign to raise awareness and tackle the stigma of this growing issue in farming.

Recent research by the charity reveals that 81 per cent of farmers under 40 believe that mental health is the biggest hidden problem facing farmers today and 92 per cent believe that promoting good mental health is crucial if lives are to be saved and farmers kept safe.

Stephanie Berkeley, who leads the Farm Safety Foundation said: “Last year’s campaign was welcomed by the farming community but one thing has become evident, farmer health and well-being can not, and should not, be ignored - by any of us. Simply pretending the issue does not exist or has no impact on the industry is not acceptable.

“In previous times of stress such as the BSE crisis in 1986 and the outbreak of Foot and Mouth in 2001, there was a sharp increase in the number of farmer suicides as farm incomes declined. Learning from past experiences we need to be prepared to support our farmers through this time and this is what we are great at, as an industry.”

For more information on “Mind Your Head” visit: www.yellowwellies.org or follow @yellowwelliesUK on Twitter/Facebook using the hashtag #MindYourHead.