Skip to main content

University of Reading Cookie Policy

We use cookies on reading.ac.uk to improve your experience. Find out more about our cookie policy. By continuing to use our site you accept these terms, and are happy for us to use cookies to improve your browsing experience.

Continue using the University of Reading website

  • Schools and departments
  • Henley Business School
  • University of Reading Malaysia
  • Applicants
  • Student
  • Staff
  • Alumni
  • Local Community
Show/Hide navigation
University of Reading University of Reading
Mobile search categories
  • Clearing
  • Study and life
  • Research
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • View courses
  • Home
  • Clearing
    • Clearing courses
    • How to apply
    • International applicants
    • Accommodation
    • Register your interest
  • Study and life
    • Study
    • Student life
    • Accommodation
    • Open Days and visiting
    • International students
  • Research
    • Themes
    • Impact
    • Innovation and partnerships
    • Research environment
    • Get involved
  • About us
    • Our global community
    • Business
    • Local community
    • Visit us
    • Strategy
    • Governance
    • Governance
  • Contact us
  • Applicants
  • Student
  • Staff
  • Alumni
  • Local Community
  • Schools and departments
  • Henley Business School
  • University of Reading Malaysia
  • View courses

Covid tip of iceberg for farmer mental health

16 February 2022

  • New research reveals farmers already at tipping point due to regulatory uncertainty and isolation
  • Formal and informal support networks disappeared during lockdowns
  • Research calls for roll-out of mental health first aid training for variety of supporters involved in agriculture

 

Farmers’ mental health was already at a critical point prior to Covid-19, which widened existing cracks in support according to new research.

Researchers from the University of Reading, Exeter University and Sheffield University found that while Covid-19 led to worsening mental health among farmers, those surveyed said that they were already struggling prior to the pandemic. Incoming changes to the basic payment system to support farmers following Brexit were a major factor for worsening mental health, alongside heightening issues such as isolation, bureaucracy, and climatic conditions.

MPs, agricultural leaders and academics heard today about results from the Landscapes of Support for Farming Mental Health project, which was funded by the ESRC in response to the global pandemic and the impact it had on farmers.

Neil Parish MP, Chair or the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee who attended the presentation of the research said:

“I’m glad to be attending this workshop tackling mental health issues in rural communities. Farmers and others in these communities often face stress caused by isolation, insecure incomes and unpredictable weather.

“My parliamentary committee has launched an inquiry into rural mental health and I’m hoping we’ll learn valuable lessons from the ‘Landscapes’ project.

“Expert research into this issue from the ’Landscapes’ team and others will help inform the recommendations we’ll eventually make to the Government about how its support to rural communities on mental health matters can be improved.”

Dr David Rose, Elizabeth Creak Associate Professor of Agricultural Innovation and Extension at the University of Reading who led the research said:

“Like many people in society, Covid-19 had a profound effect on the agricultural community, but one of the biggest impacts was to widen the already existing cracks between farmers and their support networks, and exacerbated the poor mental health that many farmers were already experiencing.

“Covid itself was just the tip of the iceberg, with the biggest change to agriculture as a result of Brexit beginning in January 2021. Against the backdrop of huge regulatory change, the first wave of the global pandemic was especially hard on farmers with the driest spring on record, the removal of formal and informal support networks and major shifts in patterns of consumption and demand.”

Charities, trade and governmental bodies normally play an important role in supporting agricultural communities, but the research highlights how usual touch points for those services and informal help were unavailable.

During the presentation, the research team identified how the wide range of formal and informal sources of support are usually available for farmers. They noted that formal support channels are often signposted by peers, friends, and roles such as vets or merchants.

Charities and organisations that support farmer welfare suffered major loss of income and affecting of services like many in the third sector. The team also found that the unique context that farmers and families who often live in isolated, rural communities face contributed to mental health stressors.

Dr Caroline Nye, Research Fellow at the Centre for Rural Policy Research at the University of Exeter said:

“Formal support systems for the agricultural community have long played a vital role towards maintaining not only business resilience but also personal wellbeing. The challenges currently faced by farmers continue to put pressure on their business, their resources, and their health.

“It is important to understand how farmers might best be supported into the future, and how support organisations’ sustainability is impacted by major crises like Covid-19, as the sector faces some of the most important transitions in agriculture of this generation.”

Dr Ruth Little, Lecturer in Human Geography and member of the Institute for Sustainable Food at the University of Sheffield said:

"In addition to Covid-19, post-Brexit policy uncertainty weighs heavily on the minds of farmers and their families - it has created a ‘perfect storm’ in terms of fuelling stress and anxiety. This project points to important evidence on both the need for support mechanisms to be in place and indicates ways to ensure that this support is effective, well-funded and as joined up as possible".  

Due to particular demands that rural agricultural communities face, the researchers recommend that mental health first aiders are urgently trained to provide signposting and support for farmers. Furthermore, the shift to online provision for many support services and charities makes the digital divide on broadband access more urgent to ensure that provision can reach farmers, their families and supporters.

The project received £190k in funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to Covid, and a full report will be published in spring 2022.

 

Read more about the research at:
https://research.reading.ac.uk/landscapes-of-support/wp-content/uploads/sites/204/2022/01/Brief.pdf Farm Safety Foundation's Mind Your Head campaign logo, with the yellowwellies.org website link

Loading additional items please wait....

Main Menu


News from 2025

Contact the press team

Expert spokespeople

Media, demonstrations, and petitions on campus

Connecting Research Blog

Events

Media Enquiries


Journalists can contact the press office at any time.

+44 (0)118 378 5757 (24 hours)

pressoffice@reading.ac.uk

News Archives


News from 2025

News from 2024

News from 2023

News from 2022

News from 2021

News archive 1998-2020

mask
CHOOSE A SUBJECT
2025/26
2026/27
Undergraduates
Postgraduates
Undergraduates
Postgraduates

Subjects A-B

  • Accounting
  • Agriculture
  • Ancient History
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Architectural Engineering
  • Architecture
  • Art
  • Biochemistry
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Bioveterinary Sciences
  • Building and Surveying
  • Business and Management

Subjects C-E

  • Chemistry
  • Classics and Classical Studies
  • Climate Science
  • Computer Science
  • Construction Management
  • Consumer Behaviour and Marketing
  • Creative Writing
  • Criminology
  • Drama
  • Ecology
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Engineering
  • English Language and Applied Linguistics
  • English Literature
  • Environment

Subjects F-G

  • Film & Television
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Foundation programmes
  • French
  • Geography
  • German
  • Graphic Communication and Design

Subjects H-M

  • Healthcare
  • History
  • International Development
  • International Foundation Programme (IFP)
  • International Relations
  • Italian
  • Languages and Cultures
  • Law
  • Linguistics
  • Marketing
  • Mathematics
  • Medical Sciences
  • Meteorology and Climate
  • Microbiology
  • Museum Studies

Subjects N-T

  • Nutrition
  • Pharmacology
  • Pharmacy
  • Philosophy
  • Physician Associate Studies
  • Politics and International Relations
  • Psychology
  • Real Estate and Planning
  • Sociology
  • Spanish
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Surveying and Construction
  • Teaching
  • Theatre & Performance

Subjects U-Z

  • Wildlife Conservation
  • Zoology

Subjects A-C

  • Accounting
  • Agriculture
  • Ancient History
  • Archaeology
  • Architecture
  • Art
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Business (Post-Experience)
  • Business and Management (Pre-Experience)
  • Classics
  • Climate Science
  • Computer Science
  • Construction Management and Engineering
  • Consumer Behaviour
  • Creative Enterprise

Subjects D-G

  • Data Science
  • Dietetics
  • Digital Business
  • Ecology
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Energy and Environmental Engineering
  • Engineering
  • English Language and Applied Linguistics
  • English Literature
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Film, Theatre and Television
  • Finance
  • Food and Nutritional Sciences
  • Geography and Environmental Science
  • Graphic Design

Subjects H-P

  • Healthcare
  • History
  • Information Technology
  • International Development and Applied Economics
  • Law
  • Linguistics
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Meteorology and Climate
  • Microbiology
  • Nutrition
  • Pharmacy
  • Philosophy
  • Physician Associate
  • Politics and International Relations
  • Project Management
  • Psychology
  • Public Policy

Subjects Q-Z

  • Real Estate and Planning
  • Social Policy
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Strategic Studies
  • Teacher training
  • Theatre
  • Typography and Graphic Communication
  • War and Peace Studies
  • Zoology

Subjects A-B

  • Accounting
  • Agriculture
  • Ancient History
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Architectural Engineering
  • Architecture
  • Art
  • Biochemistry
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Biomedical Sciences
  • Bioveterinary Sciences
  • Building and Surveying
  • Business and Management

Subjects C-E

  • Chemistry
  • Classics and Classical Studies
  • Climate Science
  • Computer Science
  • Construction Management
  • Consumer Behaviour and Marketing
  • Creative Writing
  • Criminology
  • Drama
  • Ecology
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Engineering
  • English Language and Applied Linguistics
  • English Literature
  • Environment

Subjects F-G

  • Film & Television
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Foundation programmes
  • French
  • Geography
  • German
  • Graphic Communication and Design

Subjects H-M

  • Healthcare
  • History
  • International Development
  • International Foundation Programme (IFP)
  • International Relations
  • Italian
  • Languages and Cultures
  • Law
  • Linguistics
  • Marketing
  • Mathematics
  • Medical Sciences
  • Meteorology and Climate
  • Microbiology
  • Museum Studies

Subjects N-T

  • Nutrition
  • Pharmacology
  • Pharmacy
  • Philosophy
  • Physician Associate Studies
  • Politics and International Relations
  • Psychology
  • Real Estate and Planning
  • Sociology
  • Spanish
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Surveying and Construction
  • Teaching
  • Theatre & Performance

Subjects U-Z

  • Wildlife Conservation
  • Zoology

We are in the process of finalising our postgraduate taught courses for 2026/27 entry. In the meantime, you can view our 2025/26 courses.

  • Charitable Status
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Terms of use
  • Sitemap

© University of Reading