Farmers Supporting Farmers: Livestock Auctions as Spaces to Reconstruct Occupational Community and Counter Mental Health Issues

Abstract

ABSTRACT Social isolation within agricultural communities is prevalent within the United Kingdom (UK). Along with other social and economic determinants, social isolation is considered to be a contributing factor towards the high rates of mental health issues experienced among people working in agriculture. The livestock auction mart is one of the remaining spaces upon which many livestock farmers rely for consistent social interaction and to experience community, both determinants proven to improve physical and mental health. However, the importance of the social contribution of livestock auction marts to farmer wellbeing appears rarely in associated literature. The aims of this study, therefore, were i) to determine levels of isolation experienced by livestock farmers who attend auction marts and ii) to identify the role of the mart as a system of social support, with an emphasis on the informal support system attendees provide for one another. Findings from 90 qualitative interviews demonstrate that the auction mart is an important social site where occupational community and identity can be produced and reproduced for all attending stakeholders, positively impacting upon mental health and wellbeing. The strength of the occupational community among livestock farmers should be considered as a key element among a basket of options approach in the development of support interventions, and as a pathway to negotiating barriers to both help-seeking behaviors and reaching the hard-to-reach.