#FarmerMentalHealth and Considering Online Therapy

It has been brilliant to see the subject of mental health increasingly embraced within the farming and broader rural community in recent months. On twitter there is a hashtag #FarmerMentalHealth which can be used by anybody wishing to discuss the subject or perhaps link to an interesting story or something to inspire or help others.ContinueContinue reading “#FarmerMentalHealth and Considering Online Therapy”

Woodland Trust event calls for farmers to respond to Defra Command Paper

Last week I attended an event organised by the Woodland Trust and hosted by Stephen Briggs at his farm in Cambridgeshire. The aim of the afternoon was partly to introduce farmers to the potential for using agroforestry on their farms, partly to discuss the Defra ‘Health and Harmony’ consultation document and partly to encourage delegatesContinueContinue reading “Woodland Trust event calls for farmers to respond to Defra Command Paper”

This week in farming, conservation and the countryside (9th March 2018)

This is the first post of a brand new section on thinkingcountry. Each Friday I will focus on a few of the events and things of interest that have happened during the previous week in farming, conservation and the countryside. It is something that I have been meaning to do for a while, but haven’tContinueContinue reading “This week in farming, conservation and the countryside (9th March 2018)”

‘Health, Beauty and Permanence’ – Reflections on Michael Gove’s NFU Conference speech

I haven’t made it to the NFU Conference this year, but thanks to the wonders of youtube I was at least able to catch outgoing NFU President Meurig Raymond’s speech and Defra Secretary Michael Gove’s speech (thanks @NFUtube!). You can of course read the full speech from the Secretary of State here. Here is a briefContinueContinue reading “‘Health, Beauty and Permanence’ – Reflections on Michael Gove’s NFU Conference speech”

Quick Report on Sentry Conference and general catch up post

Sunday afternoon has arrived and I’ve finally been able to sit down to settle into writing a blog post. I can’t quite believe how quickly this winter has been ticking along and although I’m quite far through my list of winter tasks on the farm the end isn’t quite in sight. Last week there wasContinueContinue reading “Quick Report on Sentry Conference and general catch up post”