Farmers find support through singing together

Farmers used to working alone say joining the Hawkstone Farmers’ Choir has given them people who understand the pressures of their lives.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Herefordshire farmer Andy Owens described the loneliness of facing problems such as unpredictable weather. Northumberland farmer Katryna Shell said singing together had helped members’ mental health because they recognised one another’s experiences without needing lengthy explanations.

The group began as 34 farmers assembled for a brewery advertising campaign. Many had little singing experience. Cambridgeshire farmer Ben Brooke said he had never sung before joining, but now has a solo on the choir’s debut album.

These are members’ accounts, rather than a clinical evaluation of singing as treatment. The choir’s commercial beginnings also remain part of its story.

Yet rehearsing and performing has created a shared activity and a reason to connect. For farmers spread across the country, the benefit they describe is simple: discovering that others understand how isolating the job can feel.

Sources

• BBC News — Jeremy Clarkson choir shows farmers they are not alone
• Hawkstone — Meet the Farmers’ Choir