Mental health awareness & support

In June 2025, our Assistant Farm Environment Adviser, George Brock, attended a Mental Health Awareness in Agriculture training course provided by the DPJ Foundation. The DPJ Foundation are a Welsh based charity focused on raising awareness and providing direct mental health support for those working in the agricultural sector. The training offered a deeper understanding of how widespread mental health challenges are in the farming community, an insight into the key indicators of poor mental health and an overview of the support and resources out there at farmer’s disposal. Following this training, George presented his learnings to the rest of the FWAG Southwest team, emphasising how we as advisers can spot the warning signs of poor mental health when on farm. Long hours, isolated working and continued uncertainty from the weather and farm economics make farming a challenging lifestyle. At FWAG, we’re critically aware of these pressures on farmers, especially following a difficult 2025, therefore knowing what help is out there for farmers to access when struggling with their mental health is an important dimension to our ethos. As a result, the DPJ Foundation has kindly agreed to provide mental health training sessions across all our staff members in 2026. It was great to see the enthusiasm and interest in supporting positive mental health within the charity.