Survey fears for farmers’ health

Published yesterday, the work was commissioned by the countryside charity, the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI), and found that the major causes of stress in the industry included: regulation, compliance and inspection, Covid-19, bad/unpredictable weather, loss of subsides and future trade deals.

The results, which were based on over 15,000 responses, also revealed that over half of the farming community experienced pain and discomfort, with one in four having mobility problems and more than one fifth having problems in undertaking usual tasks due to health issues.

However, despite highlighting some of the fears over the major changes facing the sector, the survey also revealed that more than half of all farmers remained optimistic, believing their business would still be viable in five year’s time.

Commenting on the findings, Chris McVey, who is the welfare manager with RSABI which provides support in Scotland, said that while the results had come from England, similar causes of stress affected Scottish farmers – and she hoped the survey would stimulate positive conversation throughout the industry around mental health and wellbeing:

“The finding about farmers having multiple causes of stress is something that we recognise in our work. It is often a combination of factors, for example bad weather on top of financial difficulty that cause people to seek our support.”