The Duchy of Cornwall and Prince William have launched a new Mental Health Strategy for their tenants with a specific focus on farmers and rural communities.

The strategy, developed by the Duchy and Prince William over the past year, is designed to prioritise farmer’s mental health, as well as de-stigmatising it within the agricultural sector where one farmer loses their battle with mental health each week in the UK.

In an ambition to be the leading provider of mental health support to all its tenants, the Duchy of Cornwall will provide mental health care and support via a multi-layered approach, which includes the ability to talk to trained staff via a dedicated wellbeing service, as well as staff and farmer training and hosting social events.

Matthew Morris, Rural Director at The Duchy of Cornwall says:

“Mental health is an incredibly important conversation to have, especially in the farming community. Talking about mental health in rural communities can be difficult and is often stigmatised, so one of the things the Duchy want to do with the new Mental Health Strategy is to de-stigmatise the conversation and make it normal to talk about mental health. We are really proud to have now launched the strategy, as well as multiple support networks for our tenants where we hope we can make an active difference.”

From working in, what can be an at-times lonely profession, to dealing with uncertainty of weather and prices, there are multiple pressures that farmer’s face that can have the potential to impact their mental wellbeing. The Duchy of Cornwall recognises these individual challenges of the profession and aims to make an active difference to the mental health conversation in rural communities.

To launch the strategy, the Duchy has partnered with the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution, The Farming Community Network and Hereford-based charity, We Are Farming Minds, co-founded by Duchy of Cornwall tenants, Sam and Emily Stables.

Following struggles with their own mental wellbeing and seeing the stigma around mental health in the farming industry, the Stables founded the charity which is working to support the mental health of farmers in rural communities throughout the county. The Duchy of Cornwall and We Are Farming Minds are partnering on the strategy for at least three years and will have regular check-ins to see how the partnership can improve. The Duchy’s new mental health strategy is available now to farming tenants across the estate.