One of the headline acts within the Rural Support website is something called, ‘Plough On’.

It falls into the category of ‘Social Inclusion and Mental Health’ and is, of course, a vital aspect of modern-day agricultural life. It is aimed at a specific age of farmer, with most of them retired or semi-retired people.

The stated core purpose is to improve mental and physical wellbeing through socialisation and participation in rural heritage or farming based activities and excursions.

There are groups dotted throughout the country, and an appointed co-ordinator organises trips and days out for men who might otherwise find themselves lonely or isolated.

I’ve been on a steep learning curve on this one, but from a standing start and knowing nothing, I have recently talked to one group and could easily imagine myself joining up in the not-too-distant future.

Learning

Brian Knipe oversees a group based in the Ballymoney area which draws from a wide geographical zone, and this possibly reflects the success of the venture and his ability to keep it entertaining.

For their late summer outing, they came to Killinchy to hear from Adrian and Emily McGowan who have moved from conventional farming into a farm shop situation and onwards towards what I would describe as an agricultural version of event management.

During lunch in a local hostelry, the group reckoned it would be appropriate to have a balance of speakers so called upon the village idiot (me) to fill in some time too. In truth, both Adrian and I have known Brian from our Greenmount days, so it wasn’t an arduous afternoon for any of us.

Breaks

Just because a busload of men is in their seventies and beyond, do not for one second assume they’ll be sitting like schoolchildren, waiting to be told where to go next.

These boys were out for the day, with regular coffee breaks on the way down the road, followed by a well lubricated lunch. The babble of increasing noise during the meal could only indicate one thing – there was a lot of farming being discussed.

I got the chance to converse with a few of them and it was heart-warming to recognise faces from the past.

Perhaps the most revealing aspects of those brief conversations was how few steps we are from making local connections.

I would ask where they farmed and whatever town they named, I would say, “Do you know so and so?” Invariably this quickly led to the astonishing fact that his brother courted my father’s cousin back in the early sixties. We sometimes forget just how small NI is.

Stories

I wish there had been more time to hear individual stories from ‘up the country’, because these men have a lifetime of yarns and stories to divulge.

I found it particularly poignant when one or two of them mentioned losing their wives, because it just reinforced for me how our farming life is intertwined with our married life. The two are often inseparable.

I would imagine there are hundreds of potential members still out there, all across NI.

I am slightly embarrassed to confess that I had only the vaguest of clues what Plough On was all about.

So I’m guessing there remains a real challenge in tapping into the many older farming men who would benefit from a bit more social inclusion to help stave off loneliness and improve mental health. What a worthwhile endeavour.

I have, however, one remaining question that needs addressing.

When 30 or 40 men have had a hearty lunch, washed down with a few pints of glorious ale, how many toilet stops do you need between Killinchy and Ballymoney?