Mind yourself and others

Members of Macre na Feirme as they marched towards Thomas Street in Dublin City. The Steps for our Future protest left Kildare last night, as members of Macra marched 100km from Athy, Co Kildare head to Government Buildings to protest for policies which will guarantee a future for young people in farming. Photograph: Eamonn Farrell

I had the pleasure of making a presentation at the Ballinadee Community Hall last week, along with speakers from the Cork-based Kinsale Your Support Services and Make the Moove, a Macra na Feirme initiative aimed at supporting farm families mental wellbeing.

There was a good deal of crossover between the presentations despite the fact the my own dealt with farm finance and succession planning and the others dealing with mental health. Farmers and rural dwellers face pressures from many different sources, many of which are ultimately linked to or impact on farm finances.