'There's a lot of farmers battling on'

A farmer who said running his business sent him to a "dark place" wants others in the industry to stop being complacent about their mental health.

John Ker, 38, an organic beef farmer from Somerset, said external factors such as the weather and crop prices led to him being isolated.

Ker, who is an ambassador for the Farm Safety Foundation's Mind Your Head project, added: "There's a lot of farmers battling on, and I'm keen to promote that it is alright to struggle and ask for help."

The charity said the mental wellbeing of UK farmers is at a four-year low, following 47 suicides in 2024 alone – a 7% increase from 2022.

The Farm Safety Foundation said its research has found that mental wellbeing measured in 765 farmers across the UK lags that of the general population.

It said that wellbeing of farmers aged over 61 has had the sharpest decline, despite them historically being the most resilient group.

Ker agrees there is a "hidden problem" around mental health in agriculture.

Speaking about his own experience, he said it was not until he picked up a rugby injury and his dad retired, that he had to take on his farm, near Wellington, full time.

"I took on all the pressures and all the challenges within the farming system, but I also delved into farming 24/7 – not going off the farm and doing anything," he said.

"I got myself into quite a bad spot mentally.

"I was really struggling, and didn't feel able to speak to anyone about it, didn't really know what to do."

He said he ended up lonely and isolated, questioning if he even wanted to continue the work, adding his mental health "pushed me further away from everyone".

He wants farmers to stop saying, "ah, I'm fine, it'll be alright – the sun'll come out", and instead speak to someone about their mental health.

Stephanie Berkley, from the Farm Safety Foundation, said: "Farming brings a unique set of pressures – long hours, isolation, financial uncertainty, generational expectations and physical risk.

"Conversations about suicide in rural communities require approaches that are real, relatable and rooted in lived experience."

As part of the charity's ninth Mind Your Head week – running from 9 to 13 February – it is calling on farmers, rural organisations, colleges and Young Farmers Clubs to start life-saving conversations, learn practical skills and connect communities to support.

It has also launched an online course about suicide awareness and prevention.

The foundation said it is designed specifically for farmers to equip themselves to recognise warning signs, create simple safety plans and know where they can get specialist help.

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