Farmers Supporting Farmers: Livestock Auctions as Spaces to Reconstruct Occupational Community and Counter Mental Health Issues

ABSTRACT

Social isolation within agricultural communities is prevalent within the United Kingdom (UK). Along with other social and economic determinants, social isolation is considered to be a contributing factor towards the high rates of mental health issues experienced among people working in agriculture. The livestock auction mart is one of the remaining spaces upon which many livestock farmers rely for consistent social interaction and to experience community, both determinants proven to improve physical and mental health. However, the importance of the social contribution of livestock auction marts to farmer wellbeing appears rarely in associated literature. The aims of this study, therefore, were i) to determine levels of isolation experienced by livestock farmers who attend auction marts and ii) to identify the role of the mart as a system of social support, with an emphasis on the informal support system attendees provide for one another. Findings from 90 qualitative interviews demonstrate that the auction mart is an important social site where occupational community and identity can be produced and reproduced for all attending stakeholders, positively impacting upon mental health and wellbeing. The strength of the occupational community among livestock farmers should be considered as a key element among a basket of options approach in the development of support interventions, and as a pathway to negotiating barriers to both help-seeking behaviors and reaching the hard-to-reach.

KEYWORDS:

• Livestock auction mart
• mental health
• social support
• isolation
• occupational community

Introduction

Work in agriculture has become an increasingly isolated occupation. Informal social support systems and social networking opportunities for individuals who work in agriculture have decreased over the last fifty years,¹ leaving fewer opportunities to congregate informally, create community, and reproduce identity. The livestock auction mart has been described as “the social nexus of the rural community”,² yet the role it plays in terms of informal, and in some cases formal, wellbeing support, as well as the dramatic decline in mart numbers since the 1960s³ has rarely been linked to wider wellbeing issues in the industry. Rowling⁴ states that in general, “the auction mart has stimulated little historical or sociological literature in comparison to other aspects of twentieth-century rural life”⁴ and where work has been conducted, rarely have farmers participated or contributed directly to the debate.

This study explores the links between societal change, social isolation, and mental health and wellbeing in livestock-related communities. It examines one of the remaining spaces available to the farming workforce where community can be created and occupational community reconstructed, and uses original empirical evidence to illustrate the social importance of auction marts in reproducing agricultural “occupational community” within the contemporary climate. It is important to examine farmer mental health and wellbeing from a sociological point of view as well as from a medical perspective, as social support and informal networks have been shown to be important to wellbeing⁵ alongside more formal support systems.

Social isolation and the occupational community

Although by no means universal, social isolation is a common experience for many farming people. Limited social interaction is proven to impact upon both physical and mental health,⁵ although causality is complex and multi-directional. Social support and a sense of belonging stemming from a network or community in particular can help counter the effects of stress and act as protective factors for depression and suicidal ideation,⁶ both shown to be common issues among farmers.^1,7,8 According to Lobley, Winter and Wheeler¹“a high incidence of suicide indicates widespread but hidden stress and anxiety.”¹.

A lack of social connection can negatively impact all facets of a person’s wellbeing.⁵ Social connectivity is a key factor to bear in mind in the design of any health intervention, which should “emphasize the quality of relationships and having meaningful social roles outside the formal mental health system”.⁵ It has also been stated that social connections can support recovery from issues with mental health. Physical and social activities have been shown to support farmers with stress, acting as an important release and offering balance to their often overloaded work-life dynamic.⁹

Isolation as a social problem has emerged over time as the nature of agricultural and rural communities has changed. Historically, the boundary between work and local community in British farming was indistinct, as rural communities were home to high proportions of agricultural workers and the rural workforce was able to create and perpetuate publicly recognized identities, as well as community, inside and out of the workplace.¹⁰ Newby’s use of the term “occupational community” referred, at the time, to some lowland English villages in the east of England where the geographical community was dominated by farms employing multiple workers, and where social relations within the workplace spilled out to the local community, enabling the interactional status of a farmer or worker to be reproduced elsewhere. Newby¹⁰ described how the local pub acted as “one of the most important arenas within which the norms and values of the local social system” could be reinforced.¹⁰ In the west and north of England, smaller family farming communities were similarly occupational. The “drift from the land” during the twentieth century witnessed an exodus of agricultural workers from farming occupations and rural areas, driven principally by the push-pull effect of an increase in mechanization and the draw of other industries for workers.¹¹ Similarly, the number of family farmers declined through farm amalgamation,¹ leaving rural communities with fewer farmers and agricultural workers, causing a shift in social infrastructure in both villages and on farms, and a decrease in social opportunities for those working in agriculture. In addition, the subsequent denuding of rural villages of their pubs meant that an essential platform where remnants of the agricultural occupational community could perform for the acquisition of status disappeared.¹² Such places where, according to Newby, “the individual agricultural worker could accrue to himself a great deal of the esteem and self-respect which was often denied to him in the rest of society”¹⁰ are now few. Newby¹⁰ highlighted how the occupational community situation, where agriculture as an occupation permeated the whole village, gradually transitioned towards being more “farm-centered” or “encapsulated”¹⁰ as the agricultural workforce declined and the structure, both social and spatial, of rural communities changed, to include more incomers. Such a transition began the trajectory towards the increase in physical and social isolation now experienced by so many farmers and farm workers, as well as removing common platforms via which locals and newcomers might establish more meaningful networks. Nye¹² described the current situation as one of “dispersed communities”,¹² where any remaining workers often live away from farms and their employers, farmed land is more geographically scattered, and many farmers no longer employ staff, meaning farmers often find themselves alone for long stretches of time. Such significant transitions in social life are a global phenomenon among agricultural communities. In Ireland, for example, rural living is associated with “fewer social services and limited access to social and leisure facilities”.¹ More recently, research has demonstrated how farmers feel isolated from the wider public, feeling underappreciated, isolated, and undervalued.^1,13

Apart from the weekly, fortnightly, or ad hoc sales held at local livestock auction marts, few scenarios now exist where farmers are able to congregate frequently to recreate a version of “occupational community”, a situation which diminishes their ability to connect, network, share knowledge and information about their lives, and reduce the impacts of social isolation. At a time when the state of mental health in farming has been revealed as being of particular concern,^{8,, 14–16}the significance of the mart as such a social space requires further investigation, including how the meaning of the term “occupational community” within farming might be reconsidered in terms of farmer wellbeing. Although the term occupational community has rarely been applied to British farming since Newby’s classification, in other industries the term is now being employed to refer to “people who affiliate on the basis of their occupation and develop relationships that extend beyond the content of daily tasks to sustain their social lives in a meaningful way [to cross] the boundaries of work into personal lives and [reinforce] the norms of the occupation across different life interactions”.¹⁷ Carroll and Lee¹⁸ identify two interrelated consequences for individuals concerned, the first being to foster an intense attachment to an occupation, and the second to provide an identity alongside a sense of empowerment and purpose. The term has, more recently, been applied to occupations as diverse as video game developers,¹³ software developers,¹⁹ and loggers,¹⁸ while a study of fishers in the US examined community resilience through a similar construct, termed as “communities of interest” and communities of place’.²⁰ We propose that a similar redefining of the term might be of benefit in relation to agriculture, the original “occupational community”, in order to help further promote effective means by which agricultural communities across the UK and beyond can be supported.

Support for the mental health of farming people

Since the Foot and Mouth outbreak in the UK in 2001, the focus on mental health in agricultural communities has gained momentum.^7–9 Emphasis on formal support systems explicitly designed for rural communities has grown, a fact partly attributable to mental health issues and suicide continuing to be at the forefront of discussions regarding farmers’ health.^8,9 Numerous formal support systems have developed in response to the issues faced by farmers, but previous research demonstrates that effective support is not simply a process of matching the farmer in need to the available formal support.⁹ Multiple factors affect the means by which an individual seeks help and male farmers in particular are known to resist help-seeking,^9,21,22 particularly with regards to mental health issues, often only presenting indicators or symptoms in the presence of a general practitioner while attending an appointment regarding a physical issue.²³ This means that formal support might not effectively reach those hard-to-reach or “seldom heard”²⁴ farmers who are not “mental health literate”.²⁵ While it is important that the norms influencing such resistant behaviors are addressed, it is equally important to recognize the value and role of informal support systems, as formal support alone might not be sufficient to address the issue of mental health in farming.

Informal sharing among peers is less likely to be regarded as help-seeking.²⁶ A study in Canada revealed that farmers do, indeed, talk and that often they “distance themselves from extremes of stoicism and self-reliance” as a result of close relationships with peers with whom they have developed trust, and with whom they feel comfortable discussing personal or business-related difficulties.⁹ As a result, a limited number of peer-support programs have been developed as a means of suicide prevention within agricultural communities. According to Rose and Morris,²⁷ focusing on the individual in any health program or intervention misses the importance of other individuals within a person’s network, and that changing behavior collectively might instead involve “establishing a support network of like-minded individuals and trusted facilitators” as these are often those whose advice is valued the most.²⁷

The role of the livestock auction mart in relation to facilitating informal support has been noted previously. During observations of the importance of marts to older or retired farmers, Rowling⁴ describes how such individuals “remained incorporated into the mart community through the sense of ‘togetherness’ with those who had similar life experiences, and through sharing knowledge they had built up over a lifetime of farming”.⁴ This allows the reproduction of identity to continue among those who may not still be farming, as a result of participating in the mart community. Rowling describes how the mart itself is a “community within the farming community”,⁴ built upon trust and linking the more functional aspects of mart activity to broader meanings around social networks, community, and rituals. They describe the mart as a sanctuary, a “time capsule”⁴ loaded with tradition, and preserving cultural and behavioral norms.

It is also the case that people in farming communities are keen and willing to support others, while at the same time avoiding seeking help themselves,²⁸ suggesting that a “basket of options” approach to farmer wellbeing is required for greatest impact. Through the examination of the livestock auction mart as an occupational community, this paper contributes to the growing literature on farmer mental health and wellbeing, as practitioners and policy-makers alike seek to determine how best to negotiate the wellbeing landscape of the agricultural community.

Method

This paper uses data collected for a wider study examining the social role of livestock auction markets within farming communities in the UK.³ A qualitative approach was employed involving semi-structured interviews with a range of auction mart stakeholders, including farmers, auction mart operators, auction mart employees, and representatives of various farmer support organizations or systems.

A member of the research team visited 17 different locations across England (n = 11), Northern Ireland (n = 2), Scotland (n = 1) and Wales (n = 3), where a livestock market was either present or had existed until recently. Purposeful sampling was employed with regards to the types of marts targeted for the study, ranging from small and traditional to newer, large agri-business sites. This allowed a picture to be developed regarding the landscape of auction marts currently in existence, as well as exploring how transitions in mart models might impact upon their social role.

Once chosen, the auction operator or a senior member of staff was invited to participate, and upon acceptance, a snowball sampling method facilitated further interviews with other stakeholders, such as farmers, at each site. Individuals representing a particular farmer support organization were contacted directly, either online, by telephone, or on-site while visiting a mart, again being selected according to where they fell along a range of national or regional farmer support, or type of support offered. In total, 90 respondents agreed to be interviewed: 42 farmers, 27 auction mart operators, 15 individuals from support initiatives (which included “front line” workers such as nurses or agricultural chaplains), and 6 other types of mart stakeholder (such as a chairperson). Farmer ages ranged between 25 and 83 years of age and 14% (n = 6) were women. Interviews were carried out face-to-face and on-site within a private space provided by the mart wherever possible. However, some interviews were conducted via phone. For the purpose of anonymity, all participants were assigned an identity tag in order to differentiate the various cohorts of respondents, such as F for a farmer, FS for an individual who worked for a farming support organization, and A for auction mart operator.

All interviews were recorded using an audio device upon written consent from the participant, and were subsequently transcribed, uploaded and analyzed using NVivo (V.12.2, QSR International) qualitative software. Thematic coding was then employed to determine any emerging themes and develop the thread of results, using nodes and sub-nodes as coding devices. Coding themes were checked for reliability retrospectively by two further research team members. Interview questions differed slightly between each interview cohort, and due to the semi-structured nature of the schedule (in addition to the sensitive material offered by some participants), the interview guide was intentionally kept loose in order to allow individuals to speak freely and openly. The consequence of this is that not all questions were asked to all individuals and therefore findings cannot be generalized to the wider population. However, guidance and coding themes for all cohorts included social isolation (or perceptions of social isolation), reasons for social isolation and cultural change, support systems, the importance of marts to the lived experience of farmers (and related stakeholders), experiences of suicide within local communities, attitudes towards/or perceptions of help-seeking, and the social role of the mart more generally.

Ethical approval for the research project was provided by the Ethics Committee of the College of Social Sciences and International Studies at the University of Exeter (reference number 201,920–014) and all respondents were recruited on a voluntary basis.

Findings

Our findings reveal how structural and cultural change within rural communities can contribute to isolation and loneliness and how auction marts act as a multi-layered system of social support for rural communities, ranging from the formal to the informal. Informal means of “help-seeking” emerged as being preferable to most farmers over formal help-seeking, and our analysis will focus on farmer-to-farmer support as the formal support offered by livestock auction marts in the UK has already been covered in detail.^23,

Social isolation among mart attendees

The majority of respondents reported that they worked alone or with one other family member. However, time pressures often require even family members to be spatially split while working on-farm, leaving little choice but for farmers to spend long days alone. While not necessarily an issue for all respondents, it was remarked either by farmers or other auction mart stakeholders, that social isolation was common among their attendees, and that both young and older farmers are at risk of social isolation.

I know farmers now, in this area, who might not see anybody other than their closest family member, their wife or whoever […] for 2 or 3 weeks (FS5)

We are stuck on the farm 24/7 (F11)

Apart from, you know, the odd lorry driver and things like that, you know, we don’t really see a lot of people

(F39)

Aside from structural changes on farm, a number of respondents described how a reduction in small farms and transitions in relationships with neighbors further contributed to feelings of isolation.

It used to be wonderful […] When it came to things like harvest or straw carting or that sort of thing, we all worked together […] Everyone got together in the evening and had supper together before they packed up and went home and it was wonderful (F20)

When I was younger, we went to visit our next-door neighbours. And we would have a night in their house, and they would come along to our house, and we’d have supper in the garden […] But that doesn’t happen anymore (F43)

It was also reported that time constraints, financial constraints, and an increasing culture of individualization within the agricultural community meant that neighbors rarely interacted anymore. Equally, few respondents reported socializing outside of market day, and of those who said they socialized frequently away from the farm, they were aware of others who were unlikely to leave the farm with the specific intention to socialize. Varying reasons for this were cited, such as individual character, lack of opportunities to socialize in rural locations, time restrictions related to heavy workloads, and limited networks of friends. In the instances where socializing did occur, it was usually via one of the following: attending the local hunt, local choirs, NFU meetings, agricultural discussion groups, farmer networking groups, and taking part in sporting events (either attending or engaging in).

In addition numerous respondents lamented the loss of local pubs as gathering places for local communities.

In [name of closed] market they’d have a little bar in the market. Yeah, it was a weekly session in there, farmers and drinking in general. No farmer, literally no farmer in this market, will go down to the town and go in a pub with three or four of his friends. I couldn’t think of anybody would be doing that. […] Our local pub now, has been there for generations, hundreds of years, is now shut (F23)

This “loss” was not always in reference to a physical closure of an establishment but was often linked to the transitioning fabric of local communities where substantial in-migration of people from outside of the community had occurred, resulting in locals less likely to “know their next door neighbour” (A3). Attendance for religious purposes at a local church or chapel was also said to have deteriorated over time. Where, 20–30 years prior to the study, religious attendance was of importance to the lives of many farming families, cultural change and a general decline in religious attendance, as well as ever-increasing time constraints, have meant that fewer farmers participate in their local religious communities, further limiting the potential to gather weekly at events outside of the mart.

In addition, it was revealed that a sense of social isolation also stemmed from feeling disconnected from the general public or being misrepresented by national media.

The media nowadays seems desperate to turn the public against us […] I would say the [media] were extremely biased against agriculture (F33)

Social isolation is, therefore, determined by structural and cultural changes within farming itself, as well as wider societal transitions which act to make many farmers further excluded from the environs within which they reside and operate as both people and farmers.

Several reported that social isolation led to feelings of loneliness.

Farming is so lonely at times. I don’t care about it most of the time, but you can be at home day in day out. It can be, and I think it gets, darker and darker (F15)

A lot of people have stopped going to the markets. And that’s when they go and feel lonely (F14)

Auction mart as social buffer and to counter the effects of stress

A high proportion of respondents stated that the mart formed an essential part of the lives of those who attended it on a regular basis. All respondents described the mart and its related staff, attendees and other related stakeholders as a “community” and market day is, for many, not another opportunity to interact with, engage with, and enjoy the company of other farmers, but the only opportunity.

I don’t think there is anywhere else that they can go and congregate with like-minded people without any pressure on them or commitment or having to pay. They don’t have to pay to come in here (A26)

A lot of farmers will come in, they will stand around the ring, they will talk for two/three hours. You get that farmer in the middle there, put him in the coffee shop in the middle of town, he will be like a fish out of water. He is not going to talk or do anything, but he will do it in the mart (A22)

The implication is that the existence of a social opportunity is not sufficient if it does not represent a safe and recognizable space that lacks any kind of expectation of the visiting farmer. Without any obligation to buy or sell, to interact on a professional level, or to pay to attend, the mart becomes a welcome space within which individuals can move freely and comfortably and seek interaction with whom they choose.

A farmer said to me recently, he said, I do like coming to the auction and he wasn’t particularly referring to the fact that he was selling animals there, but he said ‘I sit and talk to other farmers and I realise that they’ve all got the same problems as I have.’ (FS5)

It’s a safe place, the market, it’s a safe place (FS3)

One expert identified livestock farmers in the UK as some of those who are most likely to require support, principally because many of them tend to not only be socially isolated, but also subject to the uncertainties of the market, policy change, negative media, and consumer demand.

The most vulnerable farmers and farming businesses tend to be the people that attend auction marts. That’s a sweeping generalisation, but it has some measure of truth to it (FS6)

The opportunity to build relationships and share with like-minded individuals was described as imperative to the alleviation of stress among attendees. A relief from the sense of “aloneness” can be felt through sharing and hearing of events such as the loss of an animal, receiving negative or disappointing results on animal disease tests, or general feelings of confusion or frustration with changes in agricultural policy or aspects of the job. These matters are occupation-specific, and in many cases, may also be region or even breed specific, depending on the type of sale attended.

It gets them off the farm and it gets them in here and they speak to like-minded people and … just by speaking about this cow that’s lost her calf, that’s getting the burden off of you. You’ve shared it, and then you can go home that night and you’ve kind of had a bit of a break (F31)

One operator believed that the mart served as a site for more than one community, due to the prevalence of a number of different sales across the week, attracting different audiences.

We are not just one community here, we are 4 or 5 communities, because all our customers are completely different on each day of the week […] a large Asian community come, Kurdish, Turkish, Chinese, you name it. They all come (A6)

Trust, inadvertent help-seeking, sharing, inherent understanding of struggles of peers, connection, and being supported to counter suicidal thoughts where all cited as reasons for feeling a sense of belonging to, and identifying with, the mart community.

It was reported that it was often easier to share such matters with peers at the mart over and above family members. This was attributed to a variety of reasons, such as wanting to avoid adding stress to family members’ burdens, or because spouses might work off farm and therefore not be able to fully empathize with a partner working on-farm all day.

The café was cited repeatedly as the fulcrum within and around which much of the social connectivity occurring at marts took place. One farmer, when queried about mental health provision at the mart, responded in terms of the café:

The bare minimum should be that there is a big enough café area […] So that people can actually sit and talk together and make a cup of coffee last, you know, they can sit and talk because its sitting and talking which is important (F20)

You’ve got to have a good café. That’s the number one thing (F21)

The café is the central point of the mart (O2)

Retirees in particular would describe how important the café was to them, not only in terms of a meeting place, but also a place where they could ensure they received a hot meal. It is a place where business is discussed, tips are traded, gossip is shared and solutions found.

A number of respondents also linked a lack of mart attendance to stress or wellbeing issues, with one even attributing a lack of social connection to the suicide of a neighbour.

This neighbour of mine [who committed suicide] was one who was very private, to be honest. Market didn’t make any difference to him, because he never went there, and that’s part of the problem […] If we could have got him to come and you know talk to others, sitting around the café table … (F20)

A lot of people have stopped going to the markets. And that’s when they go and feel lonely (F14)

The act of selling animals via other non-mart routes was also believed to be potentially detrimental to the wellbeing of those selling.

There are quite a number of farmers now will sell to buying groups, so their animals never get to the market. They might sell to a meat processing plant that arranges for their animals to be picked up from one location in that area […] Quite a number of young farmers like that because they are very, very busy and they can deal with the selling of their animals in a very time-efficient way. However, it doesn’t provide the social interaction that is so important for farmers (FS8)

Many auction operators also said that they frequently acted as a point of contact for non-business related issues. Farmers were reported as approaching auctioneers for advice regarding business-related issues as a precursor to discussing more personal issues.

Retirees

A particular theme that emerged was that of the role of the mart to retirees or individuals who were no longer able to physically farm. According to auction mart operators, between 5–20% of people attending on a sale day were not there for the purpose of buying or selling, but rather for the social experience or to continue their experience within the farming world. Some retired farmers admitted that they would travel to several different markets in a single week for the purpose of meeting with peers, socializing and enjoying the mart experience.

I love it. It’s my life. I’ve got nothing else (Retired F21)

If this is where folk come to for their day job, and then they retire, it’s important that it’s still there for them. It’s a centre of their operating hand. Their whole week is orientated around the mart (FS12)

Other social benefits offered by the livestock mart occupational community

By promoting the act of socializing and networking, the mart site also facilitates informal knowledge exchange, which acts to inadvertently support farmer wellbeing. Through improving businesses practices or allowing relationships from the mart to spill out to on-farm interactions and assistance, the advancement of knowledge specifically related to the type of farming shared between two or more individuals has the potential to improve business overall, and therefore wellbeing and mental health as a consequence.

If somebody’s struggling with the TB test or sheep dipping or whatever it happens to be, the market is the place to, sort of, come and have a word with somebody and say ‘look, you know, can you spare me a couple of hours on Wednesday I need a hand’ etc. We are a good place to come and get help in that sense and I think we probably do our fair share of matchmaking in the sense that people know who to find and where they are for all manner of reasons (A1)

It’s very important, isn’t it? You learn a lot from other farmers […] There’s a lot of sharing of information going on (F12)

Pride also emerged as a theme related to positive emotions and feedback in a social situation, arising from the ability to showcase one’s animals in front of peers and be rewarded not only economically but emotionally, as a participant’s identity linked to producing quality animals is reinforced both inside and outside of the ring.

They’ve kept the cow for nine months, they have calved her, they would have reared that cow, you know, for however long and put all that effort in. So naturally they are going to, you know, take pride in producing a good animal (A22)

Cultural and social changes within marts themselves

A minority of respondents suggested that the pressures of farming now prevent socialising from taking place, even at a site such as an auction mart.

That social element to the markets has declined. So, if you go to [name of auction] now, there’ll be people in having their lunch but there’ll be nobody sitting having a pint or a whisky or a drink. There’ll be nobody playing dominoes or cards like they used to in the old days. And that social element has slowly been disappearing. And that social element is so, so very important. Because, in isolated areas like Cumbria, for some farmers, their only day away from the farm would be a trip to the auction (FS5)

Similarly, the closure of auction marts was stated by several as inhibiting the ability to socialize for many farmers who had previously been reliant upon a local mart.

One of the sad things that we’ve seen over the years is that we’ve lost a huge number of auction marts, so farmers are tending to have to travel quite a lot further to get to them […] In the past, people would go to their local town and there would be a market there […] It’s becoming harder for farmers to get to market because of the distances involved (FS8)

The subject of market closures was explored further due to the fact that the number of livestock auction marts has declined by approximately 80% since the 1960s.^3, The impact of market closures on attendees means that people often have to travel further to attend a sale, which proves to be prohibitive for some due to cost, vehicle requirements, or long distances, signifying an end to their market attendance.

The older generation, they would probably have to hire a lorry. They wouldn’t drive these days on busy motorways with livestock. It’s a responsible job, especially with cattle, as cattle move about in the lorry more so than sheep […] That would probably put a lot of elderly people off (F7)

Losing a mart was reported as creating extra pressure for businesses, preventing producers from receiving a competitive price for their stock and potentially forcing them to either seek alternative, non-social routes to market or push them out of business altogether. The loss of a market, as experienced by several respondents, was reported as knocking the morale of an occupational group who already feel disenfranchised.

I would be very upset and disappointed [if my local market closed] because there aren’t any other markets now within close proximity really […] I’ve grown up in this area knowing all the people. I know everybody. You’d just lose everything wouldn’t you? You’d just lose all your community (F1)

Being at [the closing market] on the last day was like a bereavement […] It wasn’t the same because the social group had been blown apart (FS4)

In contrast to the above, a very small minority of participants suggested that congregations of farmers might perpetuate mental health issues, mirroring Lobley et al’s²⁹ findings that “there was also some agreement that it was often too depressing to meet and talk to other farmers”.^23, This was attributed to the fact that farmers face numerous challenges in the current climate and that, by collectively remonstrating about a range of issues, individuals’ might leave feeling worse than when they had arrived. However, this perception was not backed by the majority of participants.

Discussion

Our findings support the proposition that the livestock auction mart in the UK facilitates the construction of a type of occupational community among farmers and related stakeholders. Through enabling the creation of networks stemming principally from the shared interest of livestock farming, the format of the mart, and the presence of an eating establishment, such as a café, encourage attendees to develop long-term relationships beyond simply that of trade and business. It is a space where business and personal lives can safely overlap due to the existence of shared understanding; boundaries are dismantled, however temporarily, to create an informal system of social support upon which frequent attendees can rely as long as the opportunity to attend remains. It is also a site where such community can spill over to other related stakeholders beyond farmers and mart staff, as Lobley et al²⁹ suggest, farmers are more likely than non-farmers to include people such as sales reps and feed merchants in addition to family and friends as being part of their inner circle, and to “acknowledge the importance of these relationships in discussing personal as well as farming-related issues”.²⁹ According to our findings, the consequence of belonging to, participating in, and identifying with such a community is linked to improved wellbeing and lower stress (in line with other studies⁹) as well as the potential to alleviate symptoms of depression or suicidal ideation.

Social isolation and opportunities

Overall, the pattern of social isolation among our respondents mirrored that found in other studies, where changes in farming, in addition to social and structural changes in the countryside, have led farmers to become more socially isolated.¹ There were suggestions that this might subsequently lead to loneliness, from which other more serious health and wellbeing issues might stem. Wheeler and Lobley¹⁴ distinguish between three different types of loneliness that might affect some farmers who are socially isolated: social, emotional, and cultural, and argue that loneliness can contribute to depression and suicide in the agricultural sector. It is key to recognize, however, that while both social isolation and loneliness are known to lead to impaired wellbeing, loneliness does not necessarily accompany social isolation as an emotional response,^14,30 and not all livestock farmers are lonely or suffer from wellbeing issues. However, opportunities to socialize appeared to be few for many of our participants and forums attracting large groups of farmers to congregate together on a frequent and consistent basis are extremely limited. Therefore, while farmer events and groups such as farmer clusters and Countryside Stewardship Facilitation-Funded groups (both types of group which aim to deliver environmental benefits at a landscape-scale through farmer collaboration) and, agricultural shows, buying groups, and machinery sales, might provide social and networking opportunities, their often ad hoc and infrequent nature mean that meaningful relationships between particular individuals might be less likely to form, and the format might not create the required space for all engaged to perform as themselves in a safe and trusted setting and acquire the informal social support that they need.

Several drivers beyond simply that of a diminished local community increased feelings of isolation for the agricultural workforce in our sample, ranging from occupational stressors such as economic issues, to feeling increasingly rejected by wider society and being poorly represented by the national media. These latter factors have not always been the case, so may have caused a change in “self-concept” which can lead to a reduction in self-esteem and result in higher levels of depression.³¹ Opportunities for the acquisition of self-esteem related to work also appear to be few for many farmers, who will likely rely upon increasingly intermittent interaction with peers and family members to fulfil this role, unless presented with an opportunity such as that provided by a livestock mart. Remnants of Newby’s¹⁰ original “occupational community” were not obvious from our study and only still exist in small pockets in remoter parts of the UK.

The role of the auction mart in assisting with social isolation

The livestock auction mart is a platform upon which occupation-related identity can be reiterated, performed, or rebuilt, contributing to self-esteem through peer-to-peer recognition and status acquisition (through pride in one’s animals, for example) and potentially reinforce a sense of masculinity (for male farmers) or, similarly to Rowling’s⁴ findings, permit the reproduction of identity for individuals who are no longer farming.

In addition to identity, the frequency and consistency of the livestock mart sales offers a rare opportunity for people within the livestock industry to develop varying depths of relationships, at their own pace and choosing, and within which to explore business stresses or more personal issues. Belonging to the mart community allows for meaningful social roles to be developed which might help to counter negativity felt from general public/media and a feeling of rejection by wider society stemming from negative interactions with animal welfare groups, global dietary movements such as Veganuary, or general feelings of misrepresentation. Attendance at each sale allows for a continuation of life-sharing from the previous week, for example, to allow individuals to update others on previous events, share solutions to common problems, or seek solace for events which may have occurred. Trust and sharing opportunities also create space for the exchange of knowledge that may assist farmers with business decisions. They provide a place to “seek help” under a guise of “not seeking help” as it has been shown that help-seeking as a formal exercise stimulates reluctance among many farmers,²¹ especially among men. Informal discussions, however, even with “formal” institutions such as a rural chaplain, or with mart staff, but particularly between peers, are not regarded in the same light or even perceived as help-seeking at all. The ability to share, disclose private matters and discuss business are all built upon an inherent code of trust implicit within the mart setting. While potentially experiencing reluctance to overtly seek help, connecting and networking with peers is an inadvertent means by which to address mental health matters and build necessary social capital which “can move individuals and communities towards the healthy end of the health-illness (or problem) continuum”.⁹

Our findings also show that while for some, social connectivity at marts provides only a small proportion of their social interaction, for many, the livestock auction mart is one of few, if any, opportunities to socialize, and is a physical site upon which many farmers are dependent for their social interactions. It is of particular importance to retirees or older farmers, as social opportunities appear fewer for this category, and they more are likely to be living alone, as well as experiencing detachment from their loss of occupation. Attendance at a livestock mart might be compared to the need for “bridge employment” occurring for retirees leaving other industries, where individuals seek new employment as a way of “traversing the tradition from a career to retirement”.³² Among industries with a sense of strong occupational community, such as fishing, for people who have left the profession a “focus on [their] association with the occupational community of fishers can be understood as a quest for ensuring self-continuity”.³³ Similarly, the mart assists in perpetuating the role of the retiree as a farmer by association. By decreasing isolation, a factor which normally “may compound the difficulty of dealing with stress”,¹ the impact upon business, animal welfare and family might also be decreased.^17,22,34 While social isolation and mental health and wellbeing issues are not exclusive to the farming community or agriculture as an occupation, there is a case to be argued that few occupations are as physically isolating and demanding on time, while at the same time enduring negative media attention and/or separation from the consumer.

Occupational community

While it has been shown that models of livestock auction marts vary, from the traditional to more modern agri-business centers,^3, the essential format of marts themselves differs little. The presence of an eating establishment is particularly pertinent to this point and the café proved to be the social fulcrum within and around which occupational community could develop. It might be suggested that, for some livestock farmers, the mart café has replaced the local pub experience more common to the twentieth century.

The occupational community created by a mart allows for the socialization of precarity and uncertainty. If market prices are poor, all attendees will be affected. Yet to feel such impacts collectively allows affected farmers to be consoled and supported until prices improve again, for example. Occupational community allows farmers to cement and reassert an identity which may feel indistinct when alone on the farm with few people to witness and reinforce it, particularly the people with the necessary knowledge and experience to do so.

Occupational community related to a particular physical location, such as a mart, however, comes with its own fragility. As more markets close or face closure,^3, there is a risk that these communities can be eroded or wiped out, should new marts not sufficiently replace older ones in the same locality. The ramifications of the closure of marts, especially where the next mart is likely to be further away geographically, could have significant implications on the mental health of some farmers already vulnerable to social isolation and associated mental health issues. And in some cases, shared interests may have the potential to increase anxiety or depression, as there exists the potential to reiterate or reinforce group problems, such as poor prices or disease outbreaks. Overall though, it appears that social support systems are useful to counter “maladaptive coping strategies”,²⁶ such as substance abuse, social withdrawal, or suicide, all factors which are relatively common among farmers.^17,23,35

Roy et al⁹ describe rural masculine practices as fluid, rather than static. If, therefore, help-seeking in all of its forms^3, can be encouraged in a single space such as the auction mart, it may act as a conduit to more help-seeking behaviors, such as visiting a formal on-site support service (such as a clinic), seeking help directly from a GP, or simply helping to ‘’normalize’ the idea of being more emotionally open’.⁹

By offering informal and formal support tailored specifically to the farming community, it is clear that the potential for auction marts to act as an important support fulcrum not apart from, but in addition and linked to, other support mechanisms is significant. Social support systems should not be used to substitute more formal help but rather overlap the varying systems of support available. In line with other research,⁹ our findings demonstrate that identifying with a community, particularly one that is occupational, as well as experiencing social support, and the strength of farmer-to-farmer networks, should form a crucial component to the basket of options available to farmers in need of wellbeing support. Indeed, in some places, suicide prevention programs are already intensifying peer-to-peer support programs within agricultural communities and “should be positioned as a means of strengthening solidarity among farming communities”.⁹ Occupational community in farming is not a scenario that should be exclusive to livestock auction marts, with a growing emphasis on collaboration among farmers for landscape-scale delivery of environmental management, among other objectives, other opportunities to congregate, such as farmer groups, farmer clusters, and farmer discussion groups, for example, if frequent and reliable enough, could facilitate similar social systems of support. Whatever kind of support is on offer, be it formal or informal, sustainability of support is key, as the sudden loss of any support system can be extremely detrimental to the wellbeing of both communities and the individuals who belong to them.

At the same time, it is important to look beyond formal and informal support systems, and recognize that helping farmers to re-engage with consumers and their local non-agricultural community is also likely to improve self-esteem and reduce any sense of isolation. According to Hull et al. efforts to encourage and facilitate wider community engagement among farmers might have positive downstream consequences for support-seeking in relation to health’.³⁶ Innovation interventions to assist with this will be necessary, as many farmers are unlikely to have access to the skills or knowledge to achieve this.

Limitations of this study

While our sample was comparatively large for a qualitative study, the findings from this research cannot be generalized across all livestock farmers in the UK. They exclude livestock farmers who do not operate through livestock marts at all, as well as non-livestock farmers and other workforce members of the agricultural community, such as staff and agricultural contractors. Further studies into the available fora offering social support (if any) for these farmers would be useful to gain a wider picture regarding the prevalence of consistent farmer-to-farmer support opportunities.

Conclusion

As opportunities to network and engage socially with peers within the same occupation have gradually diminished, the role of the livestock auction mart has become increasingly important to the lives of many livestock farmers beyond being a route to market. By acting as a significant platform which not only facilitates the buying and selling of animals, but also supports those individuals who form the backbone of the industry in as many ways as possible, auction marts can not only encourage their survival into the future, but also that of the livestock industry and all who form a part of it.

Using collectivity and community to improve wellbeing, while potentially increasing mental health literacy among the farming community, should form part of the solution to poor mental health reported among the agricultural workforce, families and beyond. In the wake of an already overloaded mental health care system, programs encouraging increased social networks would prove extremely useful to mitigate further problems within isolated rural populations. As stated by Hagen,³⁴ “ensuring the mental health of farmers and farm workers may be essential for global health” and should be taken just as seriously. The livestock auction mart is a place where occupational community can be produced and reproduced for those who no longer belong to what is traditionally referred to as an “occupational” community, encapsulated community, or farm-centered community at their home or regular workplace. It remains one of the few places where those who have become dispersed, and subsequently, isolated, can come together and experience a catharsis away from the stressors of home, work, or the general public. And under the already strained National Health Service, where the provision of mental health support is increasingly challenged, encouraging the development of informal support systems should be high on the agenda of all stakeholders concerned with farmer wellbeing.

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to The Princes Countryside Trust and the John Oldacre Foundation who provided funding for this research, as well as to everybody who participated in the study. We would also like to thank Chris Dodds of the Livestock Auctioneers Association (LAA) for his guidance and Emma Tranter of CRPR for all of her administrative assistance with this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research study was funded by The Prince’s Countryside Fund and The John Oldacre Foundation.