The importance of our work
The national statistic that 1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health problem of some kind each year in England [1] is quoted often in the workplace when talking about wellbeing.
But research over the last couple of years is more revealing when it comes to the communities we care passionately about.
94%
of farmers under the age of 40 believe that mental health is the biggest hidden problem facing farmers today [2]
3
people in the UK farming and agriculture industry die by suicide every week [3]
3x
The suicide rate for male farm workers is 3 times the male national average [4]
Barriers to reaching out
Men in rural areas (43%) are less likely than men in urban areas (51%) to reach out for support or talk to someone if they are struggling with their mental health.[5]
The top 3 barriers stopping these men reaching out for help are [5]:
[1] McManus, S., Meltzer, H., Brugha, T. S., Bebbington, P. E., & Jenkins, R. (2009). Adult psychiatric morbidity in England, 2007: results of household survey. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care.
[2] Yellow Wellies 2023; a survey of 450,000 UK farmers under the age of 40
[3] Office for National Statistics (2021), Public Health Scotland (2021), OpenDataNI (2018)
[4] Office for National Statistics (2015)
[5] Opinium Research, national omnibus survey of 2000 people over 18 across the UK with statistically robust number in rural and urban areas, carried out 17th – 21st January 2022).