The wellies are packed, the rain gear is ready (it’s not unheard of for a storm to pass through Ploughing) – but I’m optimistic, so I’ll also have the sunglasses to hand.

That’s the thing about Ploughing, you just don’t know what will happen, and that’s the beauty of it.

For the first time, I’ll have the exercise gear, ready to get on the bike for our Break the Cycle challenge. It was mentioned in last week’s paper but let me share more details.

At the Irish Farmers Journal stand (block 2, row 14, stand 260), we’ll have three exercise bikes with one goal in place – to cycle 720km and raise awareness about mental health in rural Ireland.

Break the Cycle is a campaign run by the Irish Farmers Journal and Tirlán supporting Aware and it’s about encouraging people to reach out and talk if they are struggling. However, sometimes it can be hard to know who to talk to.

Aware have a support line with a volunteer on the other end of the phone if you’re experiencing depression or you’re concerned for a loved one.

So why 720km? Well, every day, Aware receive 80 calls. Over the three days, we will have three bikes on the stand. Our aim is to cover 80km on each bike every day so by the time we leave site next Thursday, we’ll hopefully have clocked up 720km.

We need your help

We can’t do it alone though; we need our readers to help. You don’t have to be an athlete, we just want everyone to do what they can to help us reach our goal, even if that’s a kilometre.

You might not want to do it – even I’m a little nervous about getting up on an exercise bike at Ploughing – but exercise is a powerful mood enhancer.

For some people, it might be a while since they’ve gotten on a bike. Sport Ireland’s Irish Sports Monitor (ISM) has released the results of a survey which found that farmers aren’t as active as they think.

The likes of machinery has definitely taken some of the hardship out of farming but it has left a sense of people staying in their own lane

In fact, 25% of farmers are classified as inactive compared to 11% of non-farmers. ‘How can that be’, you might be saying? ‘Sure, aren’t I out walking the farm everyday’?

That might be the case but according to national physical activity guidelines, we should all be doing a minimum of two and a half hours of moderate to vigorous physical activity a week.

The study surveyed 8,500 adults and found that only 28% of farmers hit this target compared to 40% of non-farmers. It also highlights that within the field of health science, researchers have identified the ‘physical activity paradox’.

This is where work-related activity does not result in the same cardiovascular health benefits as you get from exercise in your leisure time. In fact, it can come with some negative health effects such as repetitive strain injuries and poor mental health.

So getting on the bike at the Ploughing may re-ignite that love of exercise.

Please do come over for a chat and one man that loves to talk is Marty Morrissey, who will be on our stand on Wednesday. When we contacted Marty to see if he would lend his support to the campaign, we were blown away by his enthusiasm.

He sums it up so well in his interview with Sarah McIntosh on page 6, saying he remembers growing up that there was a real sense of connection, visiting neighbours, helping out with farm jobs.

Times have changed and the likes of machinery has definitely taken some of the hardship out of farming but it has left a sense of people staying in their own lane.

Reaching out to someone doesn’t need to be a big gesture, a cup of tea, pulling over to say hi to your neighbour – all these things make a big difference.

We’re looking forward to seeing you at Ploughing 2024.

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