Gloucestershire farming personality and owner of Cotswold Farm Park, Adam Henson, is the host of a new podcast dedicated to highlighting and improving the mental health and wellbeing of farmers.
The new series, Adam Henson's Keeping on Track, responds to research conducted by The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) which found that one in three farmers have links to depression — with 92 per cent of UK farmers under the age of 40 ranking poor mental health as the biggest hidden problem facing people working in the industry today.
It aims to generate conversations and improve communication around mental health within the farming sector, so people don't have to suffer in silence and can access support before it's too late.
Henson began the project after losing a close friend to suicide, working with a professional production team to raise awareness of the challenges that rural professionals can encounter, while providing valuable resources to the farming community and helping them realise they're not alone.
He said: 'I have lived on a farm and been involved in farming all my life. As anyone working in farming knows, every day brings potential joy and disaster – you never quite know what is going to happen and there are many things you can’t control. This is one of the reasons for the high suicide rate within the farming sector.'
The first series of Keeping on Track features 10 episodes, each one 20 minutes long, with farming experts, influencers and mental health charities exploring themes including loneliness, financial worries, difficulties affecting sleep and mindfulness.
Adam Henson's Keeping on Track is available to stream now on all podcast platforms.
