Healthy farmer, healthy future

The second series of Farming Focus looked at the future of farming, asking what farmers can do to put themselves and their farms in the best possible place to face what lies ahead. The third episode features Nuffield scholar Chris Manley and FCN ambassador farmer Charles Anyan who discuss how to look after your physical and mental health as a farmer.

Agriculture can be a solitary environment, and when compounded by the inherent stress of constant uncertainty, it’s not unsurprising that the industry has a poor record of mental health. “Our frame of reference is changing and arguably getting more difficult,” comments Peter. “Now more than ever, we need mentally fit teams on our farms.”

Being in a good headspace is imperative to running a good business, according to Chris. “If you’re mental health is in a better place, you’re going to make better decisions and will be more likely to be consistent with your performance,” he comments. “Farming is an amazing career, but farmers are dealing with more volatility and external factors, and so being resilient is key.”

Managing Mental Health: Find your ‘thing’

Getting to know yourself and how you are feeling on a scale of 1-10 can be a really useful starting point, according to Chris, with a normal range being between 6-8. “Whatever the number, it is useful to have an idea of how you can respond to how you are feeling to pick yourself up is key. This might be going for a walk, going to the gym, or if you are a people person, picking up the phone and having a chat and cultivating relationships with people who are empathetic and can listen.”

For Charles, his ‘thing’ is exercise, and encourages fellow farmers to become more active for better mental health. “The beauty of exercise is you can do it at home. Ask yourself questions like: ‘Do you need to constantly get into the 4x4, or could you walk?’. It’s useful to sit back, look at your day-to-day life, and examine where you could move more. To be physically fit, is strongly linked to mental fitness, and mental fitness is needed to run a farm.”

Managing Mental Health: Who’s your Julie?

“I’ve always been lucky with mental health,” comments Charles, “but everyone has an off day. Several years ago, at a low point, my friend Julie messaged asking how I was, and we then talked over the phone about why I wasn’t feeling great, and the sadness just lifted. Finding that person you can talk to at a low point was the objective of FCN's Who's your Julie? Campaign, which encouraged people across farming to recognise their ‘Julies’, which is important to do when you are in a good state mentally”.

Peter remarks that this lends itself to a theme of the episode; being in a good mental state is the time to look after yourself and introduce protocols for when you are having a bad day, and to cultivate relationships that can help with this.

“Look out for other people, too,” comments Charles. “In a lot of cases, we don’t know when people have a problem. But sometimes we do, and in these circumstances, it is effective to not ask them how they are once, but twice.” Chris also advises: “You can also help as a listener by asking ‘would you like me to listen, or would you like me to provide you with a solution or distraction?’”

Box: Mental Health & Farming: Take home messages

• Cultivate relationships to create a support network when your mental health is good that you can call upon and use as a resource when your mental health is bad.
• Plan some time into your day, every day of the next week for whatever activity you think will help you most. Find your ‘thing’, be it a walk, a run, or a phone call to your Julie.

 Here to help you

For help with mental health and wellbeing, a range of resources can be found on our support page.