A unique choir of farmers, students and social media influencers have performed an agricultural take on the Friends TV theme tune in front of a packed audience at Cereals to help raise awareness of the mental health crisis in farming.
The stunt, created as part of the new Agri Aid campaign, saw the influencers perform a reimagined version of I’ll Be There For You, complete with farming-related lyrics.
Agri Aid has been created by Michael Gallacher of GCS Machinery and Rick Kellett of Caddis, who led the choir alongside 25 students from Bredon School, an independent school known for supporting pupils with special educational needs through practical, hands-on learning.
The performance also helped to raise funds for The Farming Community Network, a charity providing support to farmers, farming families and people in rural communities, including those facing mental health challenges.
Michael Gallacher said the idea behind Agri Aid was born from his own experience of struggling with mental health and the friends who helped him through his lowest moments.
“I make no secret that there was a point in my life where I really didn’t want to be here anymore,” he said. “Luckily, I had friends who rallied round and supported me back to where I am today.
“When I was at my lowest, the words to the Friends theme tune meant a great deal to me. That’s where the idea came from — that perhaps others might find them just as meaningful in their own dark moments, as a reminder that they are never truly alone, however much it may feel that way.”
Addressing the audience at Cereals he added: “It’s OK not to be OK. If you are in a dark place, reach out. There’s no shame in it.”
The campaign aims to challenge the “man up” culture that can still exist in farming and rural communities, where long hours, financial pressures and isolation can make it difficult for people to ask for help.
Michael added: “If you had mentioned mental health to me six years ago, I would simply have told you to man up. I had no understanding of any of it. Now, having been there, I get it.
“If just one person reaches out and talks to someone about how they are feeling as a result of what we do, Agri Aid will have been a success.”
Bredon School students have played a key role in the campaign, providing the backing track for the performance and joining the influencers on stage at Cereals.
The school, which supports students with learning differences including dyslexia, places creativity, practical learning and hands-on education at the heart of its approach, including through its school farm.
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