Turning Veterans into Farmers

Anna Jones hears the story of the remarkable farming life of Penny Connerton, and how she was inspired to start her social farming project Farm-Able focussing on military veterans. Penny has been a village shop owner, a dairy farmer, and a councillor but also used to be in a difficult marriage to a Falklands veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder, which resulted in divorce and ultimately having to give up her farm. After investing so much into dairy farming, this loss was devastating, but Penny channelled her energy into helping others. Farm-Able's so called 'experience days' gets skilled ex-service personnel out onto farms to have a go at anything from dairy farming to dry-stone walling.

Anna meets Penny at Allercombe Farm with farmers Deborah and Mark Daymond who ran some of the first experience days, to hear how both they and the veterans benefited. We also meet veterans Steve Richards and Keith Yelland to hear how engaging with Farm-Able has been life changing and helped in their mental and physical recovery.

Presented by Anna Jones and produced by Sophie Anton.

If you need support with mental health, details are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.