Brexit, Sustainable Land Management, NVZs, Regulations, Inspections, bTB, extreme weather, the Vegan lobby and now Covid… has there ever been a more difficult time to be a farmer?
Something we have heard a lot of in the press recently is the impact of Lockdown and the social isolation that has resulted on peoples’ mental health. Having no opportunity to meet with others, socialise, chat and sometimes talk about problems is really affecting people. Welcome to a farmer’s life!
It is no surprise that farmers are increasingly recognising that the anxiety, frustration, depression, sleepless nights that they are experiencing has a name – it is all to do with their mental health.
Worryingly, though, there is still a huge reluctance to ask for help, even when farmers recognise that they aren’t coping they don’t want to feel as if they are being judged by others, may be embarrassed to admit they are struggling, or they may be concerned about confidentiality – they don’t want anyone to know that they have asked for help. They may not want to admit that they have an issue with mental health.
It is often much easier to talk about practical issues on the farm – ‘real’ problems like a failed TB test, getting behind with BCMS records, knowing that you will fail your next inspection because of a load of little niggly problems. If these aren’t dealt with then they can lead to issues with poor mental health so why not talk about them and get them sorted?
Tir Dewi exists to help farmers just like this. It doesn’t matter what your problem is or how big it is. It doesn’t matter whether it is to do with the farm, your stock, your family or just you. And it doesn’t matter how long it takes – just one call may help, or we could work with you for many months. What matters is that you call and start talking. It’s free, it will always be confidential and we will never judge you for where you are or how you got here.
We are here, every day of the year, in English and Welsh to start the conversation.
