New Campaign Trains Vets to Spot Farmers’ Health Risks

Published: 17 November 2025 Monday
The English Chronicle Desk
The English Chronicle Online

In a groundbreaking new initiative described as the first of its kind in the United Kingdom, veterinary professionals are being trained to support human health by encouraging conversations about medical concerns with farmers on their daily rounds. Designed specifically to address the alarmingly late diagnoses common among farming communities, the “Nip It In The Bud” campaign aims to harness the trust farmers place in vets to help shift attitudes around seeking timely medical advice.

The project, launched through a partnership between the Farming Community Network (FCN) and Macmillan Cancer Support, reflects a growing worry among healthcare providers that many farmers delay seeking medical care until their symptoms have advanced to dangerous stages. With long working hours, emotional resilience born from isolation, and a culture of prioritising livestock and land, many farmers fail to notice — or choose to ignore — the early warning signs of serious illness.

For dairy farmer Barry O’Boyle, from County Antrim, the initiative resonates deeply. His father died shortly after a late cancer diagnosis, and while he acknowledges the illness was aggressive, he wonders whether earlier intervention may have helped even slightly. He also sees clearly how other farmers behave when it comes to health, noting that many simply “don’t want to take up doctors’ time.”

According to O’Boyle, farmers often dismiss their own symptoms as unimportant and may even view medical appointments as impractical or burdensome. “We’re happier to talk about our animals’ health than our own,” he said, highlighting a mentality the campaign seeks to change. He hopes the initiative will empower those in the farming community to take their health more seriously before it is too late.

Veterinary surgeon Dr Melanie Spahn-Holmes, who has worked in the profession for nearly 25 years, agrees that vets occupy a unique space in the lives of farming families. She often finds herself being asked questions about aches, pains, or unexplained symptoms — not because farmers believe she can offer medical diagnoses, but because she is someone they trust and see regularly. “Vets often become part of the family,” she says, explaining that health conversations arise naturally during farm visits. Although she always reminds farmers that she is not a doctor, she believes that simply directing someone to medical help at the right moment could prove life-saving.

Healthcare professionals, including radiographers and consultants, increasingly express concerns about the late stage at which farmers present with symptoms. Katrina Crawford, a radiographer who works with the Farming Community Network, explained that although formal data is still being compiled, the anecdotal evidence is overwhelming. She has seen patients delay essential treatments — even radiotherapy — because they cannot step away from the farm during critical periods, such as lambing season. “For farming patients, their number one priority is their farm,” she said, adding that the pressures and realities of rural life present unique health challenges.

The FCN’s long-term goal is to normalise early health checks among farmers by embedding awareness within their everyday routines. Gathering early diagnosis statistics only underscores the urgency. For example, the five-year survival rate for bowel cancer is around 90% when detected at stage one, but this falls drastically to only 10% if the disease is identified at stage four. Such stark contrasts demonstrate how devastating the impacts of delay can be and are being emphasised at the heart of the new campaign.

Sarah Christie, nation lead at Macmillan Cancer Support, believes traditional forms of health communication have simply not reached the farming community effectively. Posters, leaflets, and public health messages often fail to resonate with farmers who are time-poor, heavily occupied, and less likely to engage with general health campaigns. “Will it land? Will farmers actually have time to engage with it?” she asked. Bringing vets into the process, she says, brings a trusted and familiar voice into the conversation — someone who understands farm life intimately and can break through barriers of reluctance or self-neglect.

The initiative has also earned strong political support. In a video message shared at the Association of Veterinary Surgeons of Northern Ireland conference in Enniskillen, Health Minister Mike Nesbitt praised the campaign as a vital innovation with the potential to “save lives.” He pointed out that too many cancers in rural areas are identified only when they have reached advanced stages, reducing the chances of successful treatment. The minister emphasised that the programme is not solely about sharing information but about fostering relationships built on “empathy, trust, and support” — essential elements when addressing deeply ingrained habits in rural communities.

As part of the programme, vets will incorporate human health awareness into their mandatory 35 hours of annual continuing education. This will include training in how to initiate and manage health-related conversations, ways to recognise when farmers should be encouraged to seek medical advice, and the distribution of educational materials designed to promote earlier diagnosis. While vets will not be diagnosing farmers or providing treatment, they will play a key role in directing individuals to the proper medical channels and reinforcing the message that seeking help is not a burden but a necessity.

Ultimately, the initiative recognises that farming communities operate in environments with their own rhythms, pressures, and priorities. By working with the people who already hold trusted relationships in those environments, campaign organisers hope to shift deep-rooted behaviours and improve survival outcomes for conditions like cancer that rely so heavily on early intervention. The project marks an innovative step forward in bridging the healthcare gap for rural populations, and campaign leaders believe it could shape future public health strategies nationwide.