皇家华人

Thomas grew up on a mixed farm in Bedfordshire. He is a student at Harper Adams University and a former NFU Student & Young Farmer Ambassador.

鈥淭his year鈥檚 Mind Your Head week gives us an opportunity to talk openly about how to look after our wellbeing and create an environment every day of the year where others in the agricultural community feel safe to share, if they are struggling.

鈥淚鈥檓 very fortunate in that I haven鈥檛 experienced too many challenges with my own mental health, but the Farm Safety Foundation鈥檚 campaign is such an important one and helps dispel the myths attached to anyone suffering with their mental health.

鈥淲e have to keep saying it, but our mental health is just as important as our physical health and they are linked. One of the real positives of working in the farming industry is that we鈥檙e constantly outside on the move, doing physical jobs that make us fit and healthy and that can really help with our mental wellbeing.

Adopting a positive work-life balance

鈥淪omething that鈥檚 also really helped me keep good mental health is having boundaries in my working hours. Too often as young farmers we鈥檝e seen our parents work out on the farm all day and come back in the evening to sit for hours in the office doing paperwork. Having that work-life balance is vital and even at university I try to stick to a working day and then switch off in the evening.

Mary grew up on a mixed farm in Pembrokeshire. She studies agri-business at Reading University and is a former NFU Student & Young Farmer Ambassador.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the Farm Safety Foundation鈥檚 Mind Your Head week. This important campaign works to challenge the perceptions of mental health in farming and agriculture. A big part of removing the stigma around mental health is talking about our own experiences to help others see that it is a normal part of life.

鈥淢any people found the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown hard, but for me that鈥檚 when I thrived. Being at home in the countryside on our farm made me so happy. I love being around my parents, the farm animals and my dog, a cheeky little bobtail collie.

鈥淣ow I鈥檝e come away to university, I鈥檝e really struggled with my mental health. I鈥檝e felt lonely and homesick and on a university visit to a dairy farm recently it all got a bit much and I became really upset.

Confide in your trusted circle

鈥淔ostering a sense of community is so important in rural areas and in farming. Talking openly in those communities that we trust about our own mental health is vital as it provides the opportunity for others to share and see that they鈥檙e not alone.