Mr. Eddie Downey:

The perception is that farming is a great and stress free life. I have a 21 year old son at home who is farming with me. He grew up running after me and now I am running around the yard after him. That is the nature of the life on a farm. My 90 year old mother walks around the yard once a week or so to look at cattle or something else. If she falls in the yard, she is counted as a farm accident statistic, but if she falls when walking down the road she is counted as a road accident. Should we keep her away from doing what she does? No way, because that is what keeps her well and alive. That is the family nature of farming and what is important is to manage that.

The question was asked whether there are stress and health issues with farming. There are huge issues. Loneliness is a serious issue because farmers are working on their own on a continual basis. Without a mobile phone, they would be totally cut off. Discussion groups have played a huge part in this regard over the past period and we need to develop these groups further. They are bringing farmers to meet each other. Farmers may speak about having to go to a discussion group meeting, but these meetings get them out and have helped significantly. Group learning helps change people's attitudes unknown to them. We must continue to follow this route and work on getting farmers to meet. If one's neighbour moves on and does things matter, one tends to do the same. That is what we try to ensure. Every organisation in rural island is working to bring the numbers in regard to farm safety back in line. Even one casualty is one too many.