More than 15,000 responses to Rabi farmer wellbeing survey

More than 15,000 people in England and Wales have responded to the largest survey to date on wellbeing in agriculture.

Farm charity Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (Rabi) created the Big Farming Survey with researchers from the University of Exeter.

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The high response rate from farmers and farmworkers has been praised by researchers, and the results will be used to improve support for rural people struggling with their mental health.

Alicia Chivers, CEO of Rabi, said the huge engagement had been astounding.

“We are hugely grateful to every organisation and individual who has supported the Big Farming Survey.

“Our objective was to deliver statistically valid findings that encompass the diversity in farming today. We have more than achieved this. The results will provide a true reflection of the pressures and the impacts that people are facing, both from a personal and business perspective.”

Working with the Centre for Rural Policy Research at the University of Exeter, the findings from the survey will be published in the autumn.

Matt Lobley, research lead and professor of Rural Resource Management at the University of Exeter, said: “The response from the farming community has been outstanding.

“Receiving around 15.5k responses means we have a really robust dataset reflecting different farming situations, a broad range of farm types and sizes, and a good mix of tenures, upon which we will base our analysis.”