Shropshire Farming Talk: Providing light at the end of the tunnel
It seems the only certainty in farming at the moment is uncertainty.
There are some worried and concerned people who are producing the food to go on our tables.
Farming by its very nature is a long term planning operation.
The crop rotation is carefully organised for a number of years and livestock breeding takes time to implement.
The anxiety of not knowing whether there will be a market in the future is taking its toll on the mental health of many farming families
The night lights on in the lambing sheds in our rural county give an idea of the long hours spent caring for stock to our high welfare standards.
Those involved in agriculture today need to have a wide knowledge of soils, animal science, veterinary skills, assurance schemes regulations, grassland management, mechanical skills.
They also need to cope with conditions they cannot control, the weather, the climate and politics.
RABI (Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution) has seen an uptake in calls to their free 24/7 confidential helpline 0800 180 4444 over recent months.
RABI, with a regional support manager’s help, can make a difference, either practically, financially or emotionally giving hope to a person or family.
Do not struggle on. One person said : “Without RABI I would not be here, you gave me light at the end of a dark tunnel.”
by Chris Downes, RABI
