The Royal Countryside Fund awarded £20,000 to provide pressure checks for farming families

The project, delivered in partnership with trusted local farm support groups, aims to tackle the serious health challenges facing the UK’s farming communities by meeting them at the centre of their social and economic life, at livestock markets and agricultural shows.

It will run in collaboration with four members of the RCF’s Farm Support Groups Initiative, who are embedded within their farming communities:

• Field Nurse
• Lincolnshire Rural Support Network (LRSN)
• Monmouthshire Rural Support Centre (MRSC)
• Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RSABI)

This new funding will allow each group to extend their existing services, providing more dedicated healthcare hubs at their local marts, to help reach farmers. These drop-in clinics offer tailored services based on the needs of each region, including health screening, blood pressure and cholesterol checks, referrals to GPs or specialist services, advice on nutrition and fitness, and mental wellbeing support.

Research shows that farmers are at significantly increased risk from a range of health issues, with poor mental health being the biggest hidden problem facing the industry. In 2023, 62 farmers tragically took their own lives, up from 55 the previous year. With long days sitting on a tractor, many farmers also do not get enough physical exercise to maintain their health, are at the highest risk of developing skin cancer due to working long hours exposed to UV rays, and male farmers over 45 have an increased risk of heart disease compared to non-farmers.

Keith Halstead, Executive Director, The Royal Countryside Fund, said: “This funding supports vitally important work, which addresses the often invisible crisis in rural healthcare. These programmes are all about recognising the unique pressures of farming life and meeting these challenges with compassionate, practical and community-based solutions.

“We are very grateful to The Health Lottery Foundation and the Health Lottery Players for their support, which will make a clear and tangible difference to the lives of farmers and their families in Scotland, Wales, Lancashire and Lincolnshire.”