It was heartening to see the NFU convene a well-attended parliamentary event on the issue of rural mental health, drawing on a members' survey indicating that the tumultuous state of the industry in recent years was having a significant impact on thewellbeing of many farmers.In May, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee, the parliamentary body which oversees the work of Defra, released its own report which also highlighted the parlous state of mental health in the countryside. This report drew on the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution's Big Farming Survey, which as long ago as 2020-21 flagged the worrying statistic that fully 36 of 15,000 respondents were likely depressed, with 47 experiencing anxiety in their everyday lives. Nearly 20 had experience of someone who had taken their own life. A survey of 900 young farmers by the Farm Safety Foundation earlier this year found that 94 of respondents believed mental health was the biggest issue facing the industry. Women are more likely than men to be feeling strained, perhaps a result of balancing the responsibilities of farm, family and, often, a second job.
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