Free farming-focused mental health training is being offered by the Future Farmers of Yorkshire.

Delivered by RABI (the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution), the training day,  sponsored by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, will be held at Ruswarp Mart near Whitby on Tuesday, February 6

The event will cover: understanding common mental health issues, recognising key signs and symptoms, how to create an effective action plan to support others, and looking after your own wellbeing.

This training is followed by two years of aftercare, allowing those who benefit from the training to check their understanding or discuss their experience of supporting others.

To date, more than 30 Future Farmers have benefited from the course and the network is keen to offer the opportunity to more people in the farming community.

Nick Grayson, farmer and Chair of Future Farmers of Yorkshire, said: “The past 12 to 18 months have been very challenging for everyone involved in agriculture with lots of different external factors out of our control affecting our businesses. Regardless of whether you care to admit it or not, all of these things do, in turn, have some effect on our mental health and wellbeing.

“This course offers simple and effective tools to understand and manage our own mental health but also gives the tools to recognise signs in others of poor mental health and how you can best support them.”

Future Farmers of Yorkshire raised £3,500 for RABI by holding a charity auction and raffle kindly supported by local businesses at the network’s inaugural Harvest Dinner Dance at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

Future Farmers of Yorkshire is a thriving network of more than 1,000 forward-thinking farmers, vets and other industry professionals, supported by farming charity, the Yorkshire Agricultural Society. Open to everyone working in farming and its allied industries, Future Farmers delivers a year-round programme of events, networking, training and bursary opportunities to promote the personal and professional development of those in the agricultural industry.

For more details and to sign up to join the mental health training session at Ruswarp Mart on 6th February, visit https://yas.co.uk/