Parents of young farmer who took his own life make mental health plea

Leonard Eadon, 22, from Warwickshire, died by suicide in 2022, and now his parents, Andy and Lynda have designed a "Five-a-Day Challenge" with five simple daily steps to aid mental wellbeing.

The couple spoke out as the Farm Safety Foundation launched its sixth annual Mind Your Head campaign, which brings together more than 300 farming organisations and charities to tackle the stigma around mental health issues and highlight how current pressures within agriculture have an impact on those working in the industry.

A recent study by the charity, also known as Yellow Wellies, saw 94 per cent of UK farmers under the age of 40 rank poor mental health as one of the biggest hidden problems facing farmers today. The research also found mental wellbeing levels in the industry have been steadily deteriorating over the past three years.

Thirty six suicides were registered in England and Wales among the farming and agricultural industry in 2021 according to the Office of National Statistics.

Leonard (Len) was a popular 22-year-old young farmer, completing his studies at Harper Adams University when he took his own life.

Len Eadon took his own life a year ago

Andy and Lynda have been campaigning to help young farmers in particular, to recognise mental health issues and be prepared to talk about them.

The couple have been working with Stephanie Berkeley and the team at the Farm Safety Foundation for the past year to raise awareness among the next generation of farmers of recognising the signs and symptoms of someone struggling and gain the confidence to start what could be a difficult conversation. They are calling for more support for those making their journey into the industry and have created the Five-a-Day Challenge in Len’s memory.

Lynda said: “When Leonard died, it became a very strong feeling that we had to do something to bring people in the farming community together to talk. This is why Andy devised Five-a-Day Challenge – five very simple things you can do every day to look after your mental health. Over 18,000 of these bright red challenge cards have been printed and distributed to markets, local young farmers clubs and through the NFU Student Farmer magazine. We also commissioned 2,000 copies of the Farm Safety Foundation’s Little Book of Minding Your Head to be printed and distributed to YFCs to support the new mental health curve module that they have developed.”

Len’s Five-a-Day Challenge

1.Be honest with yourself and those around you

2.Talk openly about daily challenges & LISTEN

3.Care for yourself as well as you care for others

4.Contact that person you’ve been saying you should

5.Plan for the unexpected – make the right choices

Lynda continues: “Our hope is that, because Leonard was so well known and it shocked so many people, we want people to keep talking about it and keep remembering him and realise that they need to be aware of what they’re feeling and reach out if they need it. There is no shame. There is no stigma. But there is support.”

Lynda and Andy Eadon are supporting the Farm Safety Foundation's Mind Your Head campaign

Stephanie, manager of the Farm Safety Foundation, said: “Our research shows that levels of mental health in farming are deteriorating and it is being propelled by – in addition to many other things – the current political climate, stress caused by Covid and its aftermath, spiralling costs and continuing barriers to adequate care for many people living and working in the rural community. Farmers also recognise that there are barriers to ‘opening up’ about their mental health however, having ‘no one to talk to’ was not seen as a significant barrier. This is because we have fantastic farming charities and rural support groups operating in the UK.

“However, calls to rural support helplines have increased or become more complex over the past three years.

“Urgent action is needed to support the ongoing mental health of our farmers. We need to take the pressure off these rural support groups and charities who are increasingly relied upon to provide support for those in crisis situations."

For more information on the Mind Your Head campaign click here or follow them on social media @yellowwelliesUK on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #MindYourHead.