Vital help gives farmers someone to talk to

Perhaps surprisingly agriculture claims more suicide victims in the UK than any other profession, and it’s not just those who work alone who have given up their lives either.

Edward Dennison is a dairy and arable farmer from Thornton le Beans, near Thirsk. Six years ago he joined the Farm Crisis Network, a growing band of rural people who are trying hard to help their fellow farmers who are suffering through stress and anxiety. Not only are they there to help in times of extreme distress, they are also able to offer practical support to help them.

“There are many pressures on farmers. The majority I have been involved in helping have been hill farmers or lowland livestock farmers.

“I have always said that there should be a law against one man having a herd of cows because the job is unrelenting. It is 24/7. Of course you have to have a big enough farm that allows you the cash to employ someone, but there are a lot that don’t have the wherewithal to do that and margins, particularly in dairying as we know at present, are tightening.

“What has happened to many of those I have talked with is that they’ve got behind with the documentation that is needed on farm today.

“They have often let things slip and it has built up over a period of time and finally got on top of them.

“They then find themselves further in the mire. One of those areas has been cattle-tagging. Nowadays, if a new-born calf isn’t registered within 27 days it cannot be registered at all and is valueless.

“Farmers are traditionally not good at book-keeping and recording. We are practical, outdoor people who tend our livestock and grow crops.

“At the Farm Crisis Network we now have a direct line with the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) so we are able to help get a farmer back on the straight and narrow pretty quickly.”

Isolation has long been known to be one of the major factors impacting on farmers’ well-being.

“There are no longer masses of farm labourers and most farms, whether they are small livestock affairs or larger arable concerns, are now run by just one or two men.

“It’s not all about the likes of dairy farmers, although their situation is worse than most just now.

“Dairying can become all-consuming. It’s seven days a week and is a way of life to many. If farmers have to give up their livelihood it can be a real wrench.

“They can get very emotional when the cows have to go and that’s when some may feel they can no longer cope.”

Edward, like many, is coming out of dairying later this year. He has three sons, two of whom work on the farm but neither is interested in carrying on with what was a 150-cow herd that they have already reduced to 120. He has also been at the sharp end of the milk industry having been an NFU County Chairman and Dairy representative to the national council.

“The economics of dairying are disastrous at the moment and the CAP reform is going to cause more problems for dairy farmers.

“Our infrastructure on the farm is getting dated and if we were to continue we would have to renew and completely rebuild our dairy unit.

“That’s why we decided at the start of 2012 that we would leave dairying behind.”

The Dennisons will not be losing any sleep over their cows having to go, despite the fact that there has been a dairy herd at Crow Tree Farm since Edward’s grandfather came here.

They have 830 acres and grow wheat, barley, oil seed rape and beans, as well as having sheep.

“I don’t tend to get too emotional myself and I don’t think what is happening is going to sound the death knell to milk production in the UK because the industry is very resilient. But there’s a long way to go and it still hasn’t got over the milk deregulation of 1994 when we lost the Milk Marketing Board.

“The dairy and pigs sectors are both feeling the pinch at the moment, but it is important to point out that individuals can have crises from things other than how their part of farming is performing. Bereavement affects us all, as does getting older and not being able to cope with doing the jobs that we have to do on the farm. There are times when I believe some people need to be helped to find a way out of the industry.”

It is not just older farmers or dairy farmers under pressure, or purely livestock farmers.

“Edward helped a farmer who didn’t fit into any of those categories.

“He had all his family around at Christmas and when they had all gone back to their respective homes he was alone.

“He hadn’t received his Single Farm Payment cheque and everyone else around him seemed to have received theirs.

“He was worried, depressed and needed someone to talk to.”

Helen Benson is Farm Crisis Network Co-ordinator for Yorkshire. She joined the Yorkshire group not long after ex-Bishop Burton College principal Howard Petch had set it up in 2000.

Their first crisis was to hit just three months later when foot and mouth disease raged across North Yorkshire in 2001.

“The organisation, which now has 30 groups throughout the country and over 300 volunteers such as Edward, now has such an important role. At its core is our helpline that operates from 7am until 11pm.

“We receive new calls every day. Some are looking for information but most that call need to speak to someone immediately.

“More often than not what causes someone to call is not the main problem, it’s the straw that has broken the camel’s back.

“Most problems are multi-layered.

“Isolation is still a major problem.

“Wives and partners go off to work elsewhere during the day and sons and daughters don’t automatically farm any more as they used to.

“The farm gets bigger because there’s only one person around and there’s no-one to talk to – and there’s no escape especially if you’re running a livestock enterprise.

“Our volunteers are all farmers or those who understand and can empathise with rural people and have an agricultural interest.

“A number of them are helpline volunteers; others such as Edward are those who we contact once the initial helpline contact has been made.”

Ironically the Farm Crisis Network for Yorkshire had its own crisis earlier this month when the Great Yorkshire Show was halted after its first day.

The Wednesday of the show is usually when they hold an auction to raise much-needed funds to carry on with their support.

The organisers moved the charity auction to the Ryedale Show held on July 31.

They’ve also moved the deadline for their prize draw, which features an iPad donated by AIUA Towergate as the main prize.

This will now take place at Nidderdale Show on September 24.

If you would like to know more about how to purchase prize draw tickets you can contact Helen on 01677 470180 or email: fcnyorkshire@btinternet. com