A young farmer from Northern Ireland is raising awareness of mental health in the industry after losing a number of friends to suicide.
Speaking to Belfast Live about his experience, Daniel said: "In the past five years, I have lost two friends to mental health, and it could have been very simple, something as easy as a quick chat and finding out where they're at with their headspace that could have helped. Last week marked Farm Safety Week in the UK, with figures from Health & Safety Executive Northern Ireland showing that farming accounted for 8 of the 17 reported workplace fatalities in 2023/2024, in a sector that accounts for one per cent of the working population in Northern Ireland.
As well as focusing on how to improve your mental health, Dan said it's imporant to focus on positive mental health and how this can be fostered in the farming industry as well. "Within the older generation in this industry, they're seeing very young people taking their own life due to a mental health issue. You're seeing people who are 50 or 60 burying someone that's 22 years old.