'Being gay, I felt an imposter going into farming'

"As a gay person, living rurally, if I'm going to work on a farm – historically you've got to imagine it as a very heterosexual environment – I feel like an imposter coming in."

Shropshire farmer Gareth Hales Povey had worked in hospitality for a number of years and felt nervous about making the career change.

But the dairy farmer, from Calverhall, who currently works at Harper Adams University, found the charity Shropshire Rural Support.

Now also a volunteer at the charity, Mr Hales Povey said support from its staff gave him the confidence to give farming a try and he has not looked back.

The charity provides a confidential service for farmers and their families during periods of anxiety and stress.

'Stop overthinking things'

He said completing his first shift had felt like a huge achievement, adding that everybody he had encountered on the farm had been accepting and welcoming.

"It was more my issue going in," he said. "Scenarios running through my head, overthinking about what would happen.

"As a gay person, there's always that element of wherever we are in life we kind of weigh up the scene, where we are."

He said farming was perceived as being one of the most macho and heterosexual industries.

"My perception was I'm the first one, turns out I wasn't the first one," he said. "There was a group of us, which was lovely."

He is now using his experiences to help others going through similar issues.

"I was thrilled to be able to give some of my life experiences and wisdom on entering farming as a new profession," Mr Hales Povey said.