Farming helpline sees calls almost double
A Lincolnshire farming charity has reported a 96% rise in calls to its helpline over the past two years.
Lincolnshire Rural Support Network (LRSN), a volunteer led charity that offers support to farming communities, said their helpline handled 174 calls last year alone and supported 348 people with one-to-one support.
The charity attributed the increase to the "variety of challenges" farmers were facing.
Calls to their helpline had highlighted the bad summer weather which they said had been particularly difficult for farmers.
Amy Thomas, from the charity, said: "When your livelihood very much depends on things out of your control like the weather it it can be quite difficult.
"I know that that some of the people that we speak to describe it as a bit relentless, that no sooner have you tried to navigate one challenge then there's another."
The Lincolnshire Rural Support Network is celebrating its 25th anniversary and said, despite the recent increase in calls to the helpline, people in the farming community could still be reluctant to talk about their problems.
Ms Thomas said: "We'd love to see people reaching out that little bit sooner, rather than waiting until that crisis point.
Last year, many farmers were impacted by flooding during Storm Babet and Storm Henk. Some say they are still waiting for financial support promised to them by the previous government who set up The Farm Recovery Fund for farmers whose land had been damaged.
This year's summer has not helped the situation for farmers, who report that the wet weather had prevented crops from maturing in time to meet demand.
Miss Thomas from LRSN encouraged farmers to contact them for help and advice.
"We have seen more people come forward and that's brilliant, but I think we've still got a long way to go before people will talk openly and confidently about their emotions and about how they feel," she said.
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