Home on the Farm is a new online network developed to support females in farming and farming families throughout the UK.
Its key areas are:
n Parenting and Children on the Farm
n Family and Farming
n Food from the Farm
n Better Halves
n Women in Agriculture
Founder Milly Fyfe, herself a farmer’s wife and mother, wanted to create a new online community for females in farming where they can have conversations about issues that matter to them, concerns for their family and the future and share advice and experiences.
She said: “Being a farmer’s wife with two young children, my husband, like many farmers, works long hours on the family farm and rarely takes time for a break. I have experienced the feelings that isolation and loneliness brings, being on my own with young children all the time with little support.
“Covid-19 has really shone a light on the issue of social isolation and the importance of support and conversations and this is why this forum is really needed right now. It is important that we stick together, support each other and open up conversations about the issues we are facing – stress and anxiety, keeping our children safe, succession, whatever feels important to you right now is what we want to talk about.”
She has the support of the Farm Safety Foundation and manager Stephanie Berkeley, said: “There’s something very special and very personal about being able to ask, and potentially befriend, someone living or working in the same industry. Someone who can sympathise and even empathise with what you are going through, having been in a similar situation in the past and whose lived experiences give them wisdom.”
Home on the Farm can be accessed via www.thefarmingforum.co.uk.
And female dairy farmers in this region can also find support at the Dumfries and Galloway Dairy Women’s Network, set up by Tracey Roan from Dalbeattie. The network hosts events and training sessions and encourages information sharing.
It can be found on Facebook.
