Organic Trust and Macra team up to support farmer mental health
Organic Trust and Macra, though the latter's Make a Moove initiative, have teamed up to support mental health among the farming community.
Organic Trust said that it recognises the "growing and urgent need" for additional support for farmers facing stress and pressure.
The trust - which is one of the organic farming certification bodies in Ireland - said it is confident that the initiative with Macra will "provide a valuable and essential resource for [the] farming community".
The collaboration between Organic Trust and Make the Moove aims to reduce mental health stigma, encourage open discussions, and offer resources for the farming community.
The trust said that mental health is a "taboo topic" among farming communities, and that the nature of farming often leads to the belief that farmers must always appear "strong", even in the face of mental health challenges.
Commenting on the collaboration, Conor Holohan, director of Make the Moove, said: "We recognise the challenges faced by farmers and people in rural areas are unique and we understand those challenges first-hand.
"The people that work on the [Make the Moove] programme are from farming backgrounds and have worked across the agricultural industry," Holohan added.
"Farmers often feel they have to put up a front and show that [they] are ‘strong'. There is a misconception that help-seeking is a sign of weakness, when in fact, it’s a sign of strength."
He said that feedback from the Make the Moove's workshops and group sessions has been "overwhelmingly positive", and that the Macra initiative is seeing real progress in normalising mental health conversations within the farming community.
Holohan, said that the stress factors farmers face can include regulation, herd health, farm succession, and non-farm specific issues like family and relationship issues.
He said that farm succession is the issue that crops up most among people who engage with Make the Moove, with issues like inheritance, complex ownership, and family disagreements often leading farmers seeking guidance.
"The Organic Trust team already has a direct route to contact with the farming population. [It is] proactive in engaging with farmers and plays a crucial role in having mental health conversations."
Through the partnership, the Organic Trust team will receive mental health first aid training, equipping them to engage with farmers who may be struggling but unsure how to seek help.
"Our goal is to normalise conversations around mental health and support-seeking. We want to reduce the rate of suicide in the farming community and make it clear that it is okay to seek help," Holohan said.
He encouraged anyone in the farming community struggling with their mental health to reach out to Make the Moove, saying: "You don't have to go through it alone. Whether it's farm-related or personal, we're here to listen, guide and support you."
