Alix Ritchie: Reflecting on Mind Your Head 2026 - Why Prevention Matters More Than Ever

Alix Ritchie, Director Farmstrong Scotland:

As the 2026 Mind Your Head campaign comes to an end, I have been thinking about what this year’s conversations have brought to the surface across our agricultural community. Each February, the Farm Safety Foundation leads this important awareness raising campaign, now in its ninth year. The focus for this one was on suicide prevention in UK agriculture, and the message has been clear. We are making real progress in talking about mental health, but conversations about suicide prevention still lag behind.  

The campaign explored the unique pressures that are part of farming. Long hours, isolation, financial uncertainty and a culture that often encourages people to ‘just get on with it’ can keep too many of us silent for too long.  

The call to action this year was to start conversations that can save lives, to learn the signs that someone may be struggling and encourage them to seek support. With research, including Farmstrong Scotland’s own, showing wellbeing levels across the farming sector remain low, the urgency could not be clearer.  

Where Farmstrong Scotland Fits In 

Campaigns like Mind Your Head shine a vital light on what farmers face every day. When the awareness week passes, the important question becomes ‘what are we doing to build resilience long before someone reaches a crisis point?’ 

That is where Farmstrong is uniquely placed. Our programme is built in the positive wellbeing space. We help the agricultural community feel good and function well through practical tools, shared peer-to-peer stories and simple strategies that strengthen wellbeing in everyday life. 

This preventative space is not soft work. It is culture changing work. It is community building work. And it is work that Farmstrong is committed to doing consistently and intentionally. 

Moving Beyond Awareness 

We are very fortunate to have organisations such as RSABI pushing forward in the suicide prevention and intervention space.  The appointment of Josie Barclay who is leading this work with such passion and integrity and the research being conducted collaboratively with RSABI, Glasgow University and PhD student Katie Bryan gives me such hope that real change is possible.  

I attended the RSABI ASIST suicide prevention course at Glamis Castle in December, and it has stayed with me ever since. The training did more than increase awareness. It gave me clarity, confidence and a deeper understanding of how to recognise when someone may be struggling beneath the surface.  

That experience reinforced a powerful truth. Prevention and intervention are not competing ideas. They work best together. Intervention saves lives in crisis. Prevention helps fewer people reach that point. 

A Shared Commitment Across Agriculture 

As I reflect on this year’s campaign, one thing stands out. Our sector is beginning to align. The Farm Safety Foundation, RSABI, Farmstrong Scotland, SAYFC, industry bodies, charities and local communities are all approaching the challenge from different angles that complement each other.  That is exactly how meaningful change happens. 

Prevention alone cannot eliminate suicide risk. Intervention alone cannot build resilience. But together, we can create the full circle of support that our agricultural communities deserve. 

Looking Forward 

As we move beyond Mind Your Head 2026, my hope is that the momentum continues long after the campaign closes. Real change begins in the everyday moments. Small wellbeing habits, honest conversations and communities that look out for each other. 

Farmstrong will continue to focus on the preventative space, helping our agricultural community feel good, function well and stay connected. If you want to explore the tools and stories we offer, please visit the Wellbeing Hub on the Farmstrong website.  

 If you are concerned about yourself or someone else, talk to someone. Contact your doctor, RSABI’s (24-hours) helpline: 0808 1234 555, Breathing Space: 0800 838 587 or Samaritans (24-hours): 116 123