Minister takes part in tractor relay to highlight mental health in farming

AN unusual site will have greeted commuters and tourists walking near Parliament Square on 6 July.

Farming minister Mark Spencer could be seen driving a tractor around Parliament Square and into the Houses of Parliament to help raise awareness of mental health in farming and rural communities.

The trip around Westminster marked one segment of the Len’s Light Tractor Relay – which is covering over 2,000 miles from John O’Groats to Land’s End – to shine a spotlight on how mental health can affect those in rural communities and to help break down stigma surrounding mental health in the farming sector.

Len’s Light was launched in June this year by Lynda and Andy Eadon in memory of their son Len Eadon who took his own life in January 2022, and is working with the Farming Community Network, Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies) and Papyrus to raise awareness and funds to support farmers’ mental health.

The relay comes as the Farm Safety Foundation recently surveyed 450 UK farmers under the age of 40 and found that 94% of them agreed poor mental health is one of the biggest hidden problems facing the industry today – up from 84% three years ago.

Farming minister, Mark Spencer, said: “It’s hugely important that we raise awareness of the mental health impacts in farming and rural communities and I’d like to pay tribute to all those charities and individuals, including Lynda and Andy, who are working tirelessly to bring this to light.

“I’m honoured to have played even just a small part in this goal by getting behind the wheel today, and will continue to do all I can to ensure farmers can access the support they need, including through our Future Farming Resilience Fund and ongoing work with charities such as Yellow Wellies.”

Andy and Lynda Eadon, founders of Len’s Light, said: “Len’s Light is a nationwide journey reaching out to everyone in the rural community with the message that no one in the rural community should feel isolated and alone.

“Len’s Light Tractor Relay would not have started if we had not reached out for support from Sir Jeremy Wright MP, Mark

Two new UK deputy chief veterinary officers appointed

CHRISTINE Middlemiss, UK chief veterinary officer (CVO), has welcomed the appointment of two new deputy CVOs for the UK.

Ele Brown has been appointed as the UK’s deputy CVO for national, domestic and exotic diseases and Jorge Martin-Almagro has been appointed UK deputy CVO for international and trade affairs.

Ele is an experienced veterinarian with a background in infectious disease control.

She is also the deputy director for the bovine TB programme.

Jorge is an experienced veterinarian who has worked in a number of teams across Defra and in the Food Standards Agency. He is also interim deputy director for Global Animal Health and Trade.

Christine Middlemiss said: “I am confident that they will help meet the challenges we face and provide excellent support to me and others on veterinary and technical issues.”

Spencer MP, Stephanie Berkeley from the Farm Safety Foundation, and the NFU team – especially Minette Batters and George Bostock.

“With the help of everyone, we will continue to talk about positive mental health in the rural community which hinges around talking, listening and honesty.”

Today’s relay builds on other important work to reduce stigma around mental health in farming.

Earlier this year, Sam and Emily Stables received prime minister Rishi Sunak’s Points of Light award for their work establishing ‘We Are Farming Minds’, a charity that offers a befriending service and dedicated 24-hour helpline staffed by trained volunteers, and provides funding for farmers to access professional counselling services.

The government is investing at least £2.3 billion of additional funding a year by March 2024 to expand and transform mental health services in England so that two million more people will be able to get the mental health support they need.

Farmers’ mental health and well-being are also being prioritised and supported in the government’s Future Farming Resilience Fund, which provides free business support to farmers and land managers in England.

This includes support from in-house experts or signposting to external expert services, and the government has worked with the Farm Safety Foundation to provide advice and information on how to identify potential mental health issues and provide tools for addressing them.

NFU president, Minette Batters, said: “As an industry we’ve got to make greater strides to talk openly about our mental health and well-being. We’re encouraging the farming community to start a conversation with a neighbour, friend or family member.

“It really could make a huge difference.”

Farming profits increasing

THE government has released the latest figures for how much income farming business generated, covering 2022.

Known as TIFF, or Total Income from Farming, the figures cover the whole of England, and gives a figure for total profit ‘from all UK farming businesses on a calendar year basis’, measuring the ‘return.. for their management, inputs, labour and capital invested’.

The key figures for 2022 (not adjusted for inflation): TIFF in England was £5.7bn, an increase of £0.6bn (12.9%) from 2021.

Agriculture’s contribution to England’s economy (Gross Value Added) at basic prices was £10.4bn, an increase of £1.2bn (13.0%) from 2021.

Total crop output was £11.4bn, an increase of £2bn (21.1%) from 2021.

Total livestock output was £12.3bn, an increase of £1.5 bn (14.2%) from 2021.

Intermediate consumption was £15.9bn, an increase of £2.6bn (19.3%) from 2021.