This year myself and a group of members of Derbyshire Young Farmers are walking the 46 mile Limestone Way from Castleton in the Peak District to Rocester in Staffordshire with the aim of completing the challenge within the day. We are raising money for FCN (the farming community network) which is a fantastic charity helping farmers with their everyday struggles which usually ultimately end in mental health issues. FCN is always at the end of the phone for anyone needing help, assistance or just someone to talk to.

I have chosen this charity as this year I have struggled with my own mental health from the work load I take on, the feeling of moving nowhere no matter how hard I try and also seeing what everyone else is achieving on social media, and I think it’s something that quite often isn’t spoken about enough within the farming community. By having Young Farmers at my side I got the help and support I needed but not everyone has that and that is why I think FCN is a fantastic charity so everyone has someone they can talk to in their darkest times.

Farmers work tirelessly 7 days a week 365 days a year facing all manor of challenges from TB to the weather and quite often are working alone and face a feeling of isolation leading to depression with very few people to talk to, and with the way of farmers we just hide how we feel.

So as much as anything this year, as well as raising money for a fantastic charity I want to raise awareness for the mental health and also daily issues farmers face so I ask if everyone could please donate, share our page and support us in our efforts it would be much appreciated by us all 🙏❤️