The guiding principle of Farmstrong Scotland is that to farm and croft well you must live well.
Navigating the ups and downs of farming and crofting can take a lot out of those working in the industry, and it’s Farmstrong’s mission to shine a light on the importance and the benefits of prioritising wellbeing.
As the Chairman, I feel that the programme really gathered momentum in 2024 in terms of what it has delivered and achieved. One of the major triumphs, and one the board is especially proud of, was securing charity status, which will help with future fundraising.
Led by our Programme Director Alix Ritchie, a full staff team has been in place for a year now, and facilitating and attending events to engage with those in the industry has been top of their agenda.
For the first time, Farmstrong had its own stands at the Royal Highland Show and Scotsheep, a business breakfast at AgriScot, and attended most of the regional summer shows across the country.
Along with these events, the team have been busy coordinating on-farm Walk & Talks, the Blether Together podcast hosted by Sarah Stephen, a new webinar series, Spotify Farmstrong playlist, resources like the stress leaflet, wellbeing bank account postcard, and insightful stories from those involved in the industry. We also developed a partnership with the Scottish Farmer, to bring one of these stories to print each month, and our thanks go to the publication for their on-going support.
Through these peer-to-peer stories, farmers and crofters have shared how making small changes has had a positive impact on their wellbeing, and subsequently their businesses.
Farmstrong wouldn’t have had such a successful year without the people who have been involved and embraced what it’s all about, and that spans the industry: from stakeholders, funders, those willing to share their stories or host events, the board and staff team, including the team at Farmstrong in New Zealand, and everyone who has taken the time to come along to an event.
One of the highlights of the last 12 months for me was attending the Come Ashore Cup up in Caithness. Two communities, with strong ties to agriculture, came together to play a bit of rugby and afterwards hearing the discussions and connections that were taking place and seeing firsthand the real positive impact of the annual event on everyone was something special.
For us, being present at events like these is vital in growing the network of the organisation as well as spreading awareness and understanding of what Farmstrong is and encouraging others to get involved in the conversation.
The programme has a feel-good factor about it, and by sharing our stories of adversity and the positives on how we overcame them, we’re collectively improving wellbeing.
Looking to 2025, we have our important survey results to come, which will be really interesting, the exciting expansion of the board with new trustees early in the new year, our first Annual General Meeting (AGM), and more great events across Scotland, so come along and get involved.
