Too often I read stories in the press about farmers commiting suicide. Why does this industry have the biggest suicide rate? I know it's a dark subject but what is it about a farmer that means they'd rather lose their life than ask for help- and is this a fair comment?

A TV Company is asking these questions in a new documentary and is trying to find a number of case studies willing to discuss their struggle and to raise awareness on this continuing problem. What is in place for Farmers that are feeling the pressure? maybe you own a third or fourth generation farm and refuse to admit defeat? Are you too proud to sell up? And is this such a bad thing or do you believe hard work and dedication will pull you and your family through the tough times?

Thoughts please, and feel free to contact me directly for further information

fivedocs@twofour.co.uk 

As a farmer formost and secondly a new user to the forum I see this as an area which has been ignored for far too long. Perhaps it will be good to shed some light on this difficult and tragic trend. I know of farmers who have taken that ultimate step but although I've had my fare share of hard times I've never seen suicide as the answer. When possible I'll contact you directly...

A tough subject. We have one of the highest accident rates too, some of it is due to insane regulation meaning calves must be tagged as soon as possible after birth. Even the quietest cow can suddenly go for you after the stress of birth. We always have two people present and a safety refuge (Loadall, big quad or tractor) Some is due to the remoteness of the job. Banks put people under huge pressure (not officially of course and never in front of a witness) Farmers are also guilty both of putting others under pressure to take bad deals when they know a person is in a weak position and of not being open about how bad things can be. There is plenty of help available from Farm Crisis network and the RABI etc I wish you luck with your TV show but I doubt you will get many takers to appear.

Tricky topic and no doubt you have already done a brain stormed list of possibilities and/or a Buzan Mind Map or Meta Planning exercise. I would think one big factor would be the complexity of dealing with the vast range of issues confronting the modern farmer.

There are technology and engineering issue of equipment and plant, Science issues of agronomy, Medical/vetinary issues of stock, Finance issues of funding, Business issues of planning, scheduling, storage, transport and costing. Labour issues and Legal issues. All these issues are constantly running through the heads of farmers many of whom recognise their inadequecy in one or other of these specialist subjects.

On top of this you have a political elite dedicated to controlling every aspects of rural life through rules, regulations and monitoring and, to top it off you have an urban intellectual elite who delight in proclaiming their moral superiority in matters of Food the Countryside, Animal Welfare and Countryside pursuits such as Hunting, Fishing, Shooting. Racing and even Agricultural Show standards.

How is the very small business to cope with all this? If the average farmer could articulate his feelings and what was happening to him in the same way as can the Man or Woman or Ethnic minority person before an industrial tribunal; the tribunals of this land would be awash with Farmers claiming Harrassment, or Discrimination by Defra, Animal Health, Trading Standards, Local Authorities, RPA. BWMB and all those other bodies that can make life intolerable.

Any small businessman/woman has more problems to deal with in a year than any bureacrat in a lifetime, but, by its nature, farming involves a degree of loneliness and solo decision making most other jobs do not require.

I'll quit now because I could go on and on and the TV company will not pay for ideas. What they should do however is spend time with a number of people from this forum and, like Prince Charles, learn for themselves what the technical, financial and emotional issues really are.

I know every group of people can make out a case to show that they are unique in some way or another, and this is certainly true of farmers and country folk. We are blest in many ways compared with our Townie cousins but the urban elite certainly know how to screw things up in the countryside.

Related to the subject i would be interested to see if there is a link between farming and the farming lifestyle and a suseptability  to specific medical conditions, eg cancer, heart disease etc and what effect this has on the mortality rate of farmers?

It represents a conundrum because you would assume farmers would be more at risk from these factors (due to their lifestyle) yet the general 'tough' perception of farmers would imply the ability to resist these problems and overcome them.

Further to that the physcological impulses that drive farmers are probably well worth a look into, why is there an emotional attachment between farmers and their land that would not be expected in other profesions (above and beyond the income issue)? and what puropse would these emotions have served us in our carnal stae as cave dwelers?

Something to think about?

I have always considered a good farmer to be one who is clever/brave enough to know when to move away from farming and treat his farm as a business asset little more.

 form the cold heart of THE BEAST (now available for wedding speaches)

I would think Fed up must be close to having a breakdown after all they've been through, maybe this would be a way of exposing the problem? (see dead cows whose to blame thread on Animal Banter)