There is no doubt that 2024 was a challenging year for farming in the UK. Given the added stress farmers are currently experiencing, ensuring farmers and farm workers prioritise both their physical and mental wellbeing has never been more important.
Next week, the Farm Safety Foundation (AKA – Yellow Wellies) will again run their annual “Mind Your Head” campaign. Now in its eighth year, the charity will bring together over 400 farming organisations from across the UK (including the TFA) to raise awareness and drive change around mental health.The aim of this year’s campaign is to remind those living and working in farming that we may have bad days, but there will always be good days. Let’s encourage each other to open up, reach out and normalise conversations around how we feel and how valued we are.
As this year’s campaign coincides with Valentine’s Day, its focus will be on love, positivity and resilience. The TFA believes that as a farming community we must support initiatives like this which shines the spotlight on improving mental health and resilience across the industry.
If you haven’t visited their website before, Yellowwellies.org website offers tons of great resources, including farm emergency and safety checklists, as well as practical guidance on how to build a Health and Safety policy for your farm. While you are there – why not check out this great resource: Little Book of Minding Your Head which offers more advice and resources on mental wellbeing and farm safety.
Over the space of the week (10 – 14 February), Yellow Wellies intends to shine a light on the following:
- Break the Stigma: Continue to break down the stigma attached to poor mental health in the farming sector.
- Highlight Initiatives: Showcase the initiatives driving better mental wellbeing.
- Inspire Action: Inspire audiences to take positive steps to prioritize their mental health.
- Encourage Help-Seeking: Ensure people know that help is available and encourage them to ask for it.
- Share Stories: Share evidence, experiences, and real stories to illustrate the steps being taken by those in the industry and by various individuals to improve mental wellbeing in farming.
Show your support to this campaign by making sure to follow, like, and share content from @yellowwelliesuk during the week of February 10 to 14 – you will find them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
#TFA #YellowWellies #MindYourHead #FarmSafety #MentalHealth #FarmingCommunity #Support #Wellbeing #Farmers
