IT has now been 12 months since I took on the role of rural support officer for Cornwall with the FCN. I farm in North Cornwall with my three boys, we farm all the five hundreds - 500 cattle, 500 ewes and 500 acres.

Back in 2016 I reached out to FCN for help. I lost my dad when he was 59 to a heart attack in 2002 and with the workload pressures and commitment required to run a family farm, I threw myself at the farm and loved every hour spent. In 2012 I lost my marriage and slowly my mental health started to deteriorate. I fought the battle for many years until the inner strength faded away and I can honestly say I would not be here writing this if it wasn’t for my faith and for Peter Clarke of FCN.

The strong people in this world are the ones that accept and seek help. Forgiving people who have hurt you is hard, but I can assure you ‘forgiving’ allows you to be free of bitterness and anger it sets you “free”. The contentment and satisfaction of helping a person through a difficult period in their lives is extremely rewarding and fulfilling and I encourage anyone to consider becoming a volunteer within FCN. I wish to finish my passage here in South West Farmer with a poem I sometimes read to farmers on the initial interaction with them.

‘Don’t Quit’

When things go wrong as they often will

When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill

When the funds are low and the debts are high

And you want to smile but have to sigh

When all is pressing you down a bit

Rest if you must, but don’t you quit

Success is failure turned inside out

The silver tint on the clouds of doubt

And you can never tell how close you are

It may be near when it seems far

So, stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit

It’s when things go wrong that you must not quit