The BBC’s support service received more than 1.2 million phone calls and online visits this year after featuring depression and alcoholism among farmers.
There were two thousand visitors to the BBC’s support page following an episode of Countryfile, shown in February which interviewed farmers experiencing economic uncertainty due to the pandemic.
A broadcast interview with a farmer, who had considered suicide due to lockdown, also prompted calls to the action line.
Radio 4’s The Archers featured an ongoing storyline involving the character Alice Carter’s alcoholism, which had an impact on farmers. There were 6,000 visits to the BBC support page following Alice’s baby potentially having foetal alcohol syndrome.
National Farmers’ Union president Stuart Roberts, said: “We can all do more to listen and make time for each other and remove any stigma that too often exists around mental health.”
A survey of 450 farmers under 40, published by the Farm Safety Foundation, found 88 per cent thought the biggest hidden problem they faced was poor mental health.
In addition, a range of programmes covering suicide, grief, and emotional distress resulted in more than 120,900 visits and calls for support.
The BBC Action Line can be accessed at www.bbc.co.uk/actionline
LSL News.