The mental wellbeing of young farmers in Ireland and the UK: driving factors, help-seeking, and support

Figures & data

Figure 1. Methods used in our study. Source: authors.

Table 1. Factors affecting mental health in young farmer interviews and surveys (UK and Ireland). Source: authors’ own research.

Factor (A–Z)	Description	Sample quote/s
Animal disease, death, crop failure	Trauma of dealing with loss/crises on the farm	‘sick animals or weather where crops are suffering with a prolonged dry spell or a wet spell and your crops are suffering which will have a negative effect on you.’ (Male farmer, Ireland, interview 4)
Crime	Dog attacks, vandalism	‘we’ve had people smashing signs and trees up in fields and a dog attack on sheep. I bought 5 sheep the day before it happened and they’ve never been the same since. I was in tears, I was that stressed.’ (Male farmer, UK, interview 3)
Family illness	Caring for family members	‘I know that grandad is at home too, he is getting on and he struggles and the blood pressure is going up and down.’ (Male farmer, Ireland, interview 1)
Finances	Cost of production, poor returns	‘stress of finances plays a major part.’ (Irish farmer survey) ‘low incomes, long days, lonely, can work 12 hours a day and never have spoken to anyone.’ (Irish farmer survey) ‘poor prices for stock and animal feed.’ (Supporter, Ireland, interview 3)
Loneliness	Isolation reduces socialising (platonic and sexual relationships)	‘working long unsociable hours and not meeting or mixing with people enough.’ (Irish farmer survey) ‘farming can be very isolating, and I think that’s a big one.’ (Male farmer, Ireland, interview 11) ‘there isn't much for them. There's no clubs. You know, if this was in London, you've got the local clubs, you've got the local places. Here, there is nothing.’ (Chaplain, UK, interview 6) ‘very few girls around during the week’ (Irish farmer survey) ‘the socialising they do is really critical for their wellbeing … if you're a young farmer, they work really hard, but they play really hard.’ (Mental health charity, UK, interview 1)
Media negativity	Criticism of farming on social media and TV/radio/papers	‘as more and more social media has become available there's probably quicker access to maybe negative press in the media … everywhere you look if you go on online, on social media.’ (Male farmer, Ireland, interview 5)
Performance on the farm	Good days and bad days, mistakes made on farm	‘a time where I bought a stock bull and the stock bull didn’t work, that was a tough time.’ (Male farmer, Ireland, interview 4) ‘when I first entered the industry it was like, Oh, my God, I don't know anything so anytime that you'd maybe get something a little bit wrong, and your boss would have a go at you.’ (Male farmer, UK, interview 4)
Regulations	Pressure of satisfying and understanding regulations	‘too much pressure to do things by government rules who know nothing of the land.’ (Irish farmer survey)
Relationships	Strained personal relationships can be difficult, but family/friends offer good support	‘I’m very fortunate to be in a very nice interactive family like we work together, very family based, it always has been a huge point of why I would be very happy on my farm.’ (Female farmer, Ireland, interview 2) ‘we have seen an increase in younger people getting in touch … wanting to take the farm in a different direction … but they’re coming up against a block with their parents or their father … to have a younger member of the family to come along and say, ‘well, I don’t quite agree with that,’ can always cause difficult relationships between family members and can lead to relationship breakdown essentially as well.’ (Mental health charity, UK, interview 12)
Sexism/misogyny	Women in farming not respected	‘it’s very much a common factor that would annoy me or impact me would definitely be sexism in our culture, like older men coming to the farm where I have got numerous comments about me being on the farm and not in the kitchen … if you are female in agriculture, you have to make yourself as strong as the other people around you in there to prove whatever they are able.’ (Female farmer, Ireland, interview 2) ‘You also feel degraded, being a woman in agriculture, because you're just automatically sexualized and told you're not a real farmer because you wear boots and white jeans when you're going to feed the cows. Sometimes you can feel sick because you're sexualized.’ (Female farmer, UK, interview 1) ‘they implied that I was sleeping with the boss to try and work my way up or get to use the big toys.’ (Female farmer, UK, interview 5)
Succession	Worries over succession or pressure to take over the farm	‘there would definitely be a worry for me around succession, as I said my farm is family based which has its pros and cons, so the idea of an easy succession is a major area which I am worried about.’ (Female farmer, Ireland, interview 2)
Time off the farm	Socialising off the farm improves mental health	‘taking myself out of the farming environment every so often is definitely [good] and then also being involved in other activities like. You just take your brain away from just thinking about things.’ (Male farmer, UK, interview 9) ‘getting time away. And then coming back definitely, you feel a bit more energized and excited to get back into, you know it makes you appreciate what you’ve got. Also you’ve gone away. You’ve done something so you’ve earned it.’ (Male farmer, UK, interview 10)
Weather	Bad and unpredictable weather stresses the farm, body, and mind	‘constant stress from the weather.’ (Irish farmer survey)
Workload	Physical stress and reduces socialising off the farm	‘the long hours take their toll.’ (Irish farmer survey) ‘working long unsociable hours and not meeting or mixing with people enough.’ (Irish farmer survey) ‘As a mother of young children it's tough getting jobs done on the farm.’ (Irish farmer survey)

Table 2. Factors (and possible solutions) influencing the help-seeking behaviour of young farmers. Source: authors’ own research [all data sources].

Factor (A–Z)	Description	Quote/s	Suggested solutions (many common solutions for multiple factors)
Accessibility	Extent to which support services are available and accessible in rural locations (when time is poor)	‘being very rural locations, so maybe for those farmers, if it was an in-person support they were looking for, yes, potentially they might not be nearby for them.’ (Male farmer, Ireland, interview 10)	More investment in local support services. Investing in forms of support that do not require travel and that young people use, e.g. text, digital. ‘We also offer counselling by text message. It’s not our preferred option, but for some people, particularly amongst the younger farmers, text is their preferred way.’ (Mental health charity, UK, interview 5) ‘if it’s something over the phone … , then their location shouldn’t really impact.’ (Male farmer, Ireland, interview 10) ‘our biggest challenge will be engaging with maybe a younger demographic … Younger people might not be too keen on picking up the phone.’ (Mental health charity, UK, interview 12)
Awareness	Level of knowledge about where to go for support. Our survey conducted in NW Ireland asked young farmers if they were aware of mental health services available to them. The responses provided, with 28/59 (47.5%) answering ‘No’ and 31/59 (52.5%) saying ‘Yes’, shows a fairly even split.	‘Apart from the GP, I wouldn’t know where you could go. I am sure you could google it but I wouldn’t be confident enough to say I would know where you could go.’ (Male farmer, Ireland, interview 4) ‘I think most people have definitely that level of understanding about it. I think that most people can find a number fairly fast like that if you have to get on to someone.’ (Male farmer, Ireland, interview 10)	Normalising conversations, advertising around the issue of mental wellbeing. ‘I recommend the farm office there should be like a poster.’ (Male farmer, UK, interview 2) ‘I think when I was in college they did quite a few talks over the two years.’ (Male farmer, UK, interview 4)
Informality of support	Farmers may be more likely to access wellbeing support that does not specifically talk the language of wellbeing and mental health. Young farmer clubs were commonly identified.	‘I think if there was any support service focused at young farmers it would need to be very informal. I wouldn’t even use the word mental health in the title as you would be less likely to get people to buy in.’ (Male farmer, Ireland, interview 3)	Offer support in places where farmers are and make it less overtly focused on mental wellbeing. ‘I think if you were hosting events, it would have to be like social events masquerading as farmer mental health where you would need to hide your aim. A lot of farmers wouldn’t buy in if they knew it was on mental health.’ (Male farmer, Ireland, interview 3) ‘starting on the ground, I suppose meeting young farmers in settings that they will be going … so that will be that agricultural shows, ploughing matches, livestock marts, livestock shows.’ (Male farmer, Ireland, interview 6)
Stigma and confidentiality	Concerns about showing weakness and local people knowing you are struggling Our survey in NW Ireland asked young farmers whether they were confident in talking about the topic of mental wellbeing, with 26/59 (44%) saying ‘No’ and 33/59 (56%) saying ‘Yes. When asked if they thought it would be difficult to approach support services, 11/58 said ‘No’ (19%) and 47/58 said ‘Yes’ (81%).	‘[young farmers are] self-hypnotised in terms of their own attitudes towards mental health and they may think that if I go to that talk on mental health what will everyone think.’ (Supporter, Ireland, interview 7) ‘How confidential is it? Who would know that I'm doing it? It's definitely a thing of who's looking over your shoulder? You wouldn't want anyone else knowing that you were looking for support. And also the main thing would be how do I do it in such a way that It disappears after I've done it. No trace.’ (Female farmer, Ireland, interview 2)	Normalise conversations around mental wellbeing, not a sign of weakness. Emphasise confidentiality and offer ways this can feel more guaranteed (text over voice calls). ‘they have a couple of days in the year where they’ll have a lecture on mental health, but it's the case of ‘ah no, we’re not going to be driving tractors’. It’s young lads. Bravado. I think if there was more of a push from people or companies … if all the tractor lads are promoting this mental health, it can’t be too bad to go and talk about it.’ (Male farmer, Ireland, interview 11) ‘What if they tell Dad, or what if they tell someone about what I just said, even though they maintain secrecy and confidentiality, you still have our shit? Well, you know them. What if I see them down the mart next week, and they might think different of me? So they've got a texting service, [which] is anonymous.’ (Female farmer, UK, interview 1)
Stoicism	Stereotype of ‘strong’ farmers who must overcome struggles without showing weakness	‘Young farmers are survivors, they are used to doing things on their own without help on the farm so they may not be willing to take help with other parts of their life also.’ (Irish farmer survey)	Normalising conversations around struggle, not a sign of weakness. ‘I think more focus in agricultural colleges, maybe more focus in universities.’ (Male farmer, Ireland, interview 8) ‘Suggest it was more talked about in things farmers read like farmers journal.’ (Male farmer, Ireland, interview 1)
Trust	Farmers may be more likely to speak to people they trust, such as family and friends (if relationships are strong and open)	‘I would say family, because I think it’s a safer kind of environment. And they’re not going to go out with and tell people.’ (Male farmer, UK, interview 10) ‘I'm not so good at reaching out to my parents, and my friends … my sister’s got bit of mental trouble as well. When my parents deal with her almost every day, I think the last thing they need is their other child going ‘Ooh! I can’t do it’ … But I am quite good at reaching out to the professional help.’ (Male farmer, UK, interview 2)	Normalisation of conversations around mental wellbeing in families and friendship groups. ‘normalising those conversations.’ (Male farmer, UK, interview 8)
Understanding of farming	Farmers may be more likely to speak to people who they think understand what they do and how they might feel. Also, public perception of farming could be improved.	‘Being able to see someone who understands the nature and challenges of the job.’ (UK farmer survey) ‘I know agriculture only forms a small part of the workforce and a lot of people wouldn't have a good understanding of it and you could like I’d be thinking myself I was to ring up here now they would have a clue what I was talking about.’ (Male farmer, Ireland, interview 1)	Sharing problems with like-minded peers. ‘going to a discussion group and you’re talking to another farmer and he’s going through the same problems as you might think you’re fighting a battle on your own but if you be talking to another farmer more than likely he is fighting the same battle as you’. (Supporter, Ireland, interview 5) Public education. ‘A society that isn’t out to constantly bash farmers down.’ (UK farmer survey)

Data availability statement

Interview data is not available due to the sensitivity of the topics discussed and possibility to identify respondents. Survey data from Ireland is not available as there were no resources to anonymise and archive it. Anonymised survey data from the UK is available at https://reshare.ukdataservice.ac.uk/855791/.