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All articles about Health and wellbeing

Farmers’ physical and mental health and wellbeing are often pushed to one side as the important tasks of managing a busy arable or livestock farm take over. See ideas to help you keep fit and healthy on the farm and combat rural isolation and stress.

Advice and tips

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Considering a new future: Ways to deal with farming pressures

It is no secret that stress and poor mental health are endemic among the people who make their living from the land. As the UK moves away from direct farm…

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Holistic farmer wellbeing health check: How are you really?

Farmers are notorious for spending more time thinking about their livestock, costs and crops than their own happiness and wellbeing. This is perhaps best explained by agriculture’s long history, slight…

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Coronavirus: Advice for managing and keeping staff safe

Farmers may be wondering how to best protect their staff during the coronavirus outbreak. We asked Oliver Dale, managing director at Safety Revolution, and Sophie Walker, business manager at the…

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Advice on solving farmer lameness, joint and foot ailments

A hobble is an unwelcome rite of passage for many farmers as they transition from youth to older-middle age, but just as lameness is preventable in livestock so too is…

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Case studies

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Video: Son's death leads family to back mental health charity

The parents of a 22-year-old farmer who took his own life are urging youngsters facing a similar situation to seek help and support. Leonard Eadon, from Napton, in Warwickshire, died…

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Britain's Fittest Farmer 2021: 4 strong women's entries

Farmers Weekly's popular health and wellbeing competition, Britain's Fittest Farmer, is attracting entries from across the country.  There's still plenty of time for you to enter the contest if you're…

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Fit2Farm: How a better work-life balance benefits farm

Achieving a better work-life balance is top of the list for Britain's farmers – many of whom are working long hours with little time off. The average farmer works 65…

PAYMENTS, SCHEMES AND GRANTS

Video: Exmoor group tackles farm support and rural isolation

The unique and thriving farmer-led Exmoor Hill Farming Network has grown to support 300 local farming businesses since it began four years ago under the guidance of chairman Dave Knight…

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Community

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

BFF: First-time entrants get competition-ready

There are just seven weeks to go until the first Britain’s Fittest Farmer 2024 qualifier in June. Plenty of time, then, to kick-start your training and join us for the…

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Farm Doctor: Could you recognise the signs of dementia?

We all forget things from time to time, and this is just part of being human. When a person starts to forget lots of things, it can affect how they…

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Yana charity launches new rural mental health helpline

Rural mental health and suicide prevention charity Yana (You Are Not Alone), based in East Anglia, has launched a new live helpline to give immediate support to rural communities. The…

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Farm Doctor: How to spot signs of poor mental health

In February, Farmers Weekly's Farm Doctor Camilla Baker shared her advice on maintaining good mental health while farming. This month, she takes that further, explaining how to spot if a friend…

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Insights

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Why is farming's biggest charity moving into policy?

It is often said that prevention is better than cure, which is why the UK’s largest rural charity, the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution’s (Rabi), has this week announced a change…

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Why farmers should prepare for and discuss health issues

Matthew Berryman’s role as a farm consultant sometimes involves getting clients to address topics they would rather not talk about. “When I raise the subject of wills and lasting powers…

SUCCESSION PLANNING

Why poor succession planning can impact mental health

Numerous aspects of farming can negatively impact upon mental health, but the one many might not have drawn a line to is the eternal pressures surrounding succession. Though succession is…

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News

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Lambing shed artwork reminds farmers to ‘keep talking’

Scottish farming charity the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution (Rsabi) is urging farmers to keep talking about their mental health and look out for each other as we head into…

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Long hours a factor in farmers' worsening mental health

The Farm Safety Foundation’s annual Mind Your Head campaign has launched today (Monday 12 February), shedding light on the worsening issue of mental health in the farming sector. The campaign,…

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Big Farming Tea-Break campaign launches in February

A nationwide mental health campaign is due to launch at livestock markets, agricultural colleges, and Young Farmers' clubs in February to promote respect and mental wellbeing in farming. The Big…

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Rabi launches winter fuel grant for farmers

Agricultural charity the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (Rabi) has launched a £250,000 fund to support farming families with the cost of fuel bills throughout the winter months.  The Winter Fuel…

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Opinion

NEWS

Opinion: Simple self-help tools can be useful to farmers

An Irish podcaster known as “Blindboy”, famous for wearing a mask fashioned out of a shopping bag, may have one of the best tools for mental health. He highlights the…

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Farmers offer their younger selves some pearls of wisdom

The benefit of hindsight is a wonderful thing, and everyone makes mistakes. We can all learn from each other, too. With this in mind, Farmers Weekly and rural charity The…

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Video

Video: Britain's Fittest Farmer 2022 - meet the winners

The winners of Britain’s Fittest Farmer have been crowned after battling it out at the finals in Essex. The competition was fierce, the camaraderie strong, and our four winners get…

Video: Britain's Fittest Farmer 2022 - the qualifiers

Competitors from across the country converged on Adam Henson’s Cotswold Farm Park for the qualifying rounds of Britain’s Fittest Farmer.  The Gloucestershire venue saw almost 60 entrants battle in out…

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Video: Son's death leads family to back mental health charity

The parents of a 22-year-old farmer who took his own life are urging youngsters facing a similar situation to seek help and support. Leonard Eadon, from Napton, in Warwickshire, died…

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Video: Britain's Fittest Farmer 2021 - the final

The competition was intense, but two winners have now been crowned in Farmers Weekly's iconic initiative, designed to spark a discussion about mental and physical health in the countryside. Erica…

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