Of the 437 new enquiries for help R.A.B.I received from January to May, 67 per cent came from working farmers.

Trish Pickford, head of welfare, said: “We are continuing to receive a high number of applications from working people. Around 60 per cent of those who sought our help in May cited illness, injury or disability as a cause. Self-employment and the nature of farming in particular means that when ill-health or accident strikes it is often very difficult to cope, both practically and financially.”

Those who got in contact cited a number of sources for how they heard about the charity, including R.A.B.I staff or volunteers, citizens advice bureaus, charitable organisations, businesses and more.

To spread the word about what R.A.B.I can do to help farming people, the charity is involved with a number of campaigns, such as Carers Week earlier this month. The campaign focussed on the needs of carers and what help is available for them.

From July 15-19, R.A.B.I will be supporting Farm Safety Week, a national campaign that highlights the importance of practising safe procedures while working on a farm.

Trish added: “People are hearing about us from a wide range of sources, which shows that the effort we’ve put into raising awareness is proving successful. Around a quarter the people who contacted us last month heard about us from friends and relatives. It goes to show that word of mouth is still extremely important, even in this digital age.”

If you know someone who is struggling financially, please give them our freephone helpline number:  0800 188 4444. The people who got in touch could only do so because someone let them know help was available.