Cornish young farmer wins NFYFC Farm Safety Award

A Cornish young farmer has been awarded the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs (NFYFC) Farm Safety Award, recognising his 10-year commitment to encouraging mental health support for farmers and those in rural communities.

Sponsored by the Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies), the award was announced on the eve of the sixth Mind Your Head campaign, which runs from 13-17 February and promotes mental wellbeing among farmers.

See also: Mind Your Head tackles mental health barriers in farming

James Hosking, who is a member of Camelford YFC and works as an area manager for BH White & Son across Cornwall and Devon, said: “I was really shocked to win. Mental health is important in rural communities and it’s come a long way in 10 years. 

“We’ve got to be different. I started talking one day, and it happened to be that somebody out there decided to listen – it snowballed from there.  

“I’ve been doing this for so long now that sharing my story and trying to help people is just a part of my life now.”  

The Farm Safety Award is a category within the YFC Achievement Awards, which celebrate the work of Young Farmers members across the country.

Running for the first time since the pandemic, the award ceremony was held in Birmingham and saw a host of well-known farming faces on the judging panel – including farmer and farm safety ambassador Maria Warne, NFYFC chair of council Ed Dungait, and Stephanie Berkeley, from Yellow Wellies. 

Stephanie said: “We all agreed that James epitomises everything that is good about the Young Farmers’ network.

“His strength and resilience have been inspirational and his message that there is no shame, no stigma but there is support echoes as true today as it did a decade ago when he started his campaigning.”