Farmer Marc Gascoigne Promoting Mental Health

With mounting pressures facing farmers compounding issues around poor mental health, Cambridge dairy farmer, Marc Gascoigne, is on a mission to strengthen farmers’ resilience, during a Scotland-wide tour, The Scottish Farmer’s Claire Taylor reports.

On his tour, Gascoigne will spark much needed conversations around mental health by sharing his own struggles and how he has built up the tools and coping mechanisms to overcome his own battle with anxiety and depression, Taylor writes.

“For more than 20 years, I struggled with poor mental health, but it always came in waves – spring was always my trigger,” Gascoigne said. “It is a very challenging time on the farm, with all cows calving at once and the long hours and stress would lead to me feeling very low and anxious, although at the time I wouldn’t have admitted it.

“Farmstrong helped me to change my outlook on farming and mental health and gave me the tools and strategies to try and get better.”

Gascoigne’s tour is being organised by Farmstrong Scotland, as part of a programme of events to launch the New Zealand initiative in Scotland.

Original article by Claire Taylor, The Scottish Farmer, January 30, 2023.