'I cover for farmers so they can go on holiday'

Two farmers have launched an initiative to enable others in the industry to feel they can take a break.

Lily Kentfield, 21, and her boyfriend, Brandon Peet, 29, from Framlingham in Suffolk, set up LB Farm Relief in January after noticing that the farmers they met were "stressed" and felt unable to take time off.

Mark Holmes, a stockman from Hethel, in Norfolk, is one of several farm workers who welcomed the move.

"You can't [take a break] because you've got no-one," he said.

Kentfield and Peet have been working on farms since they were teenagers.

Over the years Kentfield said she noticed farmers struggling to find time to take breaks which she believed was contributing to mental health struggles.

The couple launched their business where they visit farms to take over the running of the livestock.

"Everyone I met was just basically stressed and under pressure," Kentfield said.

"No-one [ever said], 'Oh I'm very relaxed, I get lots of time off'.

"I needed the experience, but the thought was always in my head of wouldn't it be great if someone could just come in for people who are sick on farms?"

In her late teenage years, Kentfield built up her experience and qualifications across a range of skills until she felt ready to offer farmers her service.

She wanted farmers to know that having a day off "doesn't make you any less of a farmer".

Peet believed that farmers were the "backbone of our rural communities, yet they're often the people least able to step away when life becomes difficult".

"Whether they're facing illness, family challenges, or simply need time to be with loved ones, the work doesn't stop and the farm still needs to keep running," he added.

"They dedicate their lives to producing our food, caring for livestock, and maintaining the countryside, often putting the needs of the farm before their own."

He added that he wanted to give farmers a "peace of mind" so they could focus on "what matters most while also knowing their farm is in safe hands".

Holmes was looking forward to Kentfield and Peet covering him at the end of the summer, stating that farmers with livestock were reluctant to take breaks away from their animals.

"A lot of the time, most of the farms I know are a one-man band," he said.

"So there used to be probably three people on that farm, but because of the way the income's gone, there's now only one person and he does everything and you can't leave the farm.

"If you become ill, you just get on with it."

Farm Safety Foundation, a charity supported by NFU Mutual, surveyed more than 750 farmers across the UK.

It found that 91% agreed poor mental health was the "biggest hidden problem" facing the agricultural industry.

NFU Suffolk Council representative George Gittus, who farms near Bury St Edmunds, said he knew dairy farmers had access to relief milkers, but he had not heard of a business like Kentfield and Peet's.

"Anything that gives farmers the opportunity to take a break, get away and have a change of scene has to be a good thing," he said.

"I think farmers working on some small family farms may sometimes feel they can struggle to take time off and sometimes if you are managing a farm, it could be a problem as well.

"Having someone with the skills and experience who can step in and take the pressure off will help to give people that much-needed break."

Glenn Buckingham, a farmer of 40 years from Framsden in Suffolk and former chair of the Suffolk NFU, said farmers had to plan their breaks very far in advance.

When asked if more supply farmers were needed, he said: "If you are working alone and run your own farm, there will be times of the year where you absolutely cannot leave, but you may feel you wish to.

"So a service like this to give someone the chance to get away, clear the mind, have that break, have a rest from all the work, take your mind off it is really vital.

"Hats off to this, it really is a great help for those sole workers, working alone, running their farms.

"Why not? Absolutely do it and I hope people take up on it."

Robin Hepburn is the charity director of YANA (You Are Not Alone) that provides confidential support to those in agriculture and rural businesses.

He had not heard of the supply farmer concept before, but said Kentfield and Peet's points about the pressures on farmers were ones he recognised.

"Anxiety, stress, the huge pressures that they're under and the inability to be able to take time out are all things we hear on calls to our helpline and our work amongst the farming community across East Anglia," he said.

Do you have a story suggestion for Suffolk? Contact us below.

Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.