The number of farmers calling for help spikes

A HELPLINE for farming families in need of emotional or practical support to overcome stressful situations has reported a spike in calls in the first half of the year.

The Farming Community Network (FCN) received more than 1,000 calls last year but the volume of calls its volunteers have fielded since the turn of the year is outstripping those recorded in the same period a year ago, member Peter Riley said.

The charity operates a free helpline for farmers and their families to seek advice when times are tough. Based in Northampton but with regional support groups located across the country, a team of 25 volunteers support the FCN in Yorkshire.

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Local supporters are brought in to help local callers after initial contact is made via the national helpline.

Mr Riley said the majority of calls this year had related to financial hardship on the back of poor harvests and rising feed costs.

“Farmers face many difficulties that are outside of their control like the weather and prices set by suppliers, and then there can be other problems around farm tenancies, livestock and crops that don’t grow,” he said.

Philippe Roy, a PhD student in Social Work at Université Laval in Canada, will be discussing stress, coping and help-seeking among male farmers at a lunchtime seminar at Leeds Metropolitan University on Monday. Mr Roy has published a study based on his research into stress, coping strategies and the perception of male roles in 32 male farmers from Québec, Canada.

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He said: “Early results of my study indicate some coping strategies, such as taking holidays, are considered useful but, somehow, unacceptable based on the social ideals of what a male farmer should be.”

But Mr Riley said it wasn’t just male farmers who needed support, with somewhere in the region of four in every ten calls to the FCN helpline made by farmers’ wives and other family members.

“Farming isn’t just a job, it’s a way of life. Nine times out of ten families live on the farm and so whatever happens causes friction for the whole family. Add to that all the same rows, arguments and family breakdowns you get with any other families and this all happens in areas that are isolated as opposed to being urban settings.”