Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social wellbeing. It affects how we think, feel, and act. Mental health issues are a normal part of life. Mental health, like physical health, can vary from day to day. Issues can appear as a result of experiences in both our personal and working lives -- or they can just happen.
In any one year approximately one in four people experience at least one mental health issue.
Being in good mental health is therefore important to everyone and each one of us has a role to play by adopting approaches that help keep us in good health and build resilience for the pressures of life in agriculture.
The Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies) Charity is promoting its 8th annual 'Mind your Head' Campaign during the second week of February.
During this year they aim to bring together over 400 Farming organisations to raise the awareness and drive change around mental health in the farming sector.
These Farming organisations have joined the Agri Wellbeing Alliance which was launched at LAMMA 2025 a few weeks ago.
This is a newly formed coalition which includes organisations and charities such as:- Mates In Mind, Crown Estates, National Association of Agricultural Contractors (NAAC) Agrii, IOSH Rural Industries Group, Fam Safety Foundation(Yellow Wellies) and the Farming Community Network (FCN).
One such mental health charity that is supporting the Yellow Wellies campaign in February is - Mates In Mind.
Mates in Mind state that they are working towards a farming sector where mental health and well-being is prioritised and openly discussed. They hope to collaborate with all different sectors that work in the agricultural industry to raise awareness, reduce stigma and promote access to mental health support services and resources.
Research has found that having good mental health well-being is good for business as it reduces sickness absence, staff turnover and increases productivity and demonstrates that the organisation is a good safe and supportive place to work. This in turn impacts the employee directly by building confidence, positivity, inclusion and positive fulfilling relationships.
Mates in mind say "We advocate for positive mental health in and through work. We work with organisations to build cultures of prevention and a supportive working environment so that every worker has the skills, knowledge and confidence to spot the signs of mental ill-health, to start conversations, signpost support and help to address the stigma that surrounds mental health."
The charity has provided a number of free resources including a Toolbox talk which you can share with colleagues to help start the conversation.
You can find the free toolbox talk by visiting and signing up with Mates in Mind
Want to invest further by carrying out some additional training in mental health awareness?
Lantra offers a free e-learning course called 'Mental Health in Agriculture (e- learning) You can find the course here: Mental Health in Agriculture (e- learning)
This course takes one hour to complete - but you can stop and start when you wish. A CPD certificate is provided at the end of the course for your records.
We encourage you to take time to invest in your health, safety and mental well-being and start the conversation with your team and carry out some training this month.
Last year Young Farmers Clubs were encouraged to host the Big Farming Tea break - to get everyone to come together in community and groups and to encourage having conversations about mental health. We encourage you to do the same on your farm and help start the conversation.
