Hawkstone Farmers Choir and Brewery Donate £100,000 to Rural Mental Health Charities
Following a victory on Britain’s Got Talent, the Hawkstone Farmers Choir and Hawkstone Brewery are donating £100,000 to mental health and agricultural charities. According to news reports, half of the funds were handed over at Jeremy Clarkson’s pub, The Farmer’s Dog, with the remaining balance matched by the brewery to bolster confidential text support services for farmers.
Distribution of the Britain’s Got Talent Prize Money
The choir’s contribution represents £50,000—or one-fifth—of the £250,000 prize money they received after winning Britain’s Got Talent in May, as reported by source materials. According to the BBC, the initial £50,000 handover took place on Friday at Jeremy Clarkson’s pub, The Farmer’s Dog, near Burford. The funds were divided equally among five organizations: Mind, the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (Rabi), the Farming Community Network (FCN), Shout, and the DPJ Foundation.
Expanding Crisis Text Support for Farmers
Hawkstone Brewery matched the choir’s contribution with a separate £50,000 donation directed entirely to Shout, extending an ongoing partnership established in 2024. According to operational data, 441 farmers used the HAWKSTONE keyword between August 2024 and August 2025 to engage in 514 conversations with the 24-hour mental health text service. Victoria Hornby, chief executive of Mental Health Innovations, which manages Shout, noted that one in eight of these conversations involved suicidal thoughts, while 1% required emergency intervention due to imminent risk.
Did you know? According to Rabi’s 2021 Big Farming Survey—which surveyed more than 15,000 people—36% of agricultural respondents were found to be probably or possibly depressed.
Building a Sustainable Future for the Choir
The Hawkstone Farmers Choir originated a little more than a year ago when agricultural workers were recruited for what was initially planned as a one-off recording session at The Farmer’s Dog. The group evolved into a permanent choir of over 30 farmers and agricultural workers from across the UK. Ted Howard-Jones, a choir member, stated that the group aims to build a sustainable organization capable of supporting farming charities well into the future, utilizing the remainder of the prize money to develop operations and generate ongoing donations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which charities received funding from the Hawkstone Farmers Choir?
The choir’s £50,000 donation was split equally among Mind, the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (Rabi), the Farming Community Network (FCN), Shout, and the DPJ Foundation.
How much did Hawkstone Brewery contribute?
Hawkstone Brewery matched the choir’s £50,000 contribution with a separate £50,000 donation to Shout, bringing the total combined donation to £100,000.
How can farmers access the Shout text support service?
Farmers can access the dedicated text support route by using the keyword HAWKSTONE when contacting the 24-hour confidential service.
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