How rural a support worker helps farmers’ wellbeing

In an era when the Church plays a smaller part in some rural communities than it did a generation ago, the need for pastoral care has become invaluable to many farming families.

Andy Jerrard is a well-known face across the West Country. A non-ordained employee of the Methodist Church, his role also involves acting as livestock market chaplaincy co-ordinator and agricultural chaplain for Plymouth and Exeter Methodist District.

“A livestock dealer once commented that my job was drinking tea and eating cake,” laughs Andy Jerrard.

“There’s actually a lot of truth in that,” says the Devon-based rural support worker.

“It’s about spending time with people, and hopefully in places where they feel comfortable because that’s when they’re likely to open up and talk.”

See also:  Analysis – the grim state of mental health in agriculture

Listening is key

“In reality, most people aren’t listened to all that much. But it’s really important that it does happen because if we allow things to go round in our head, they tend to magnify,” says Andy.

“It’s surprising how often, if you express thoughts to somebody else, they diminish in their effect on you. Sometimes, merely by articulating the thought, your own solution to a problem comes to mind, too.”

Having been in his job for just over a decade, Andy is perhaps most visible in the 10-plus markets he regular visits across Devon, Cornwall and Somerset.

“It’s easy for people looking in from the outside to assume farmers are remarkably confident, but a lot are quite insecure.

“If, by talking to me, they can get a bit of affirmation, they suddenly grow a foot taller.

“That’s no reflection on me – that happens when they spend time with anyone who’s prepared to listen.

“Part of my role is to act as a safety valve. It’s good that people can sound off to me rather than go home and stew about it – or take it out on somebody else.”

The shortage of social interaction, already present as a result of rural depopulation, has been amplified by Covid. 

“There’ll be some who might not have seen more than 10 different people over an 18-month period, and perhaps no one outside their family.

“We all need different people to bring out different parts of our personalities.

“The longer you spend behind the farm gate, the harder it is to go back out beyond it.”

Face-to-face interaction

The desire for – and benefits of – face-to-face interaction was highlighted to Andy by talking to the Young Farmers’ Club county organiser.

“They enjoy using social media and Zoom, but they all wanted proper meetings to start again. And you have to have a decent signal to use the internet anyway.

“Across a lot of Exmoor and Dartmoor, the internet connection is terrible and the phone signal doesn’t exist.”

While a lot of the issues rural people face are the same as those of their urban counterparts – such as marriage breakdowns or money worries – problems can be amplified by the fact that they live and work in the same place, often alongside family members.

“Then there’s TB. People have been driven to the depths of despair by this dreadful disease.

“I wish the public could understand that TB is not just about cows and badgers – it’s about human beings.

“It has immense implications for farming families, in terms of their mental health – even before you consider the financial strains.

“Add another issue into the mix – such as Covid or the stress of a farm inspection – and some farmers simply don’t have the resilience to cope as they could, had it not been for TB.”

Such problems come, says Andy, against a backdrop of inadequate commodity prices and rising input prices.

Layer onto that the increase in isolation as a result of the far smaller workforce in the countryside – and the proliferation of rules and regulations – and suddenly what was once a real delight of a job can become an incredibly stressful grind, he says.

“The truth is, farmers are working harder than they ought, because we all eat more cheaply than we ought.”

Although the big reduction in support payments hasn’t yet taken effect, it’s the uncertainty that’s causing worries and mental health issues.

Dealing with the unknown

“If we know what we’ve got to aim for, we can work out how to get there, but dealing with unknowns is hard.

“Urban people think farmers are thick-skinned and don’t care what anyone else thinks. But they do.

“If you’re constantly portrayed as a villain, even if you know you’re not, it makes you wonder what’s expected of you and if you’re even wanted at all.

“A farmer said to me recently: ‘Before Covid, we were the enemy; during the pandemic we were key workers; now, once again, we are the enemy because of climate change.’

“There’s a lot of balderdash talked about climate change, though, relating to agriculture.

“The first – and most important – purpose of land is to grow food, and whether that is growing arable crops or grass for animals, it involves taking large quantities of carbon out of the atmosphere.”

Andy reckons his previous jobs, including spells with the Environment Agency, an agricultural merchant, a seed company and as a herdsman, have helped prepare him for this role.

It requires an ability to listen, a strong sense of discretion and a preparedness not to judge.

“There is a danger that I slip into advice mode and that is not my role – if people need other advice, I simply ‘signpost’ them in the right direction.

“I really believe the Church has a huge, meaningful contribution still to make to rural life.”

But has his waistline expanded as a result of all that tea and cake?

“Let’s just say I saw a photo of me the other day, taken when I started this job.

“The trousers I was wearing then have worn out – but if they hadn’t, I certainly wouldn’t have been be able to get in them now!”