A farming mental health charity supported by Prince William has told Sky News it has seen a direct link between recent government policies and an increase in the number of farmers at crisis point.
It comes as a farming activist said it was William’s “duty” to speak up for farming – and criticised the Royal Family for being too quiet on the issues the community faces.
Sam and Emily Stables set up the charity We Are Farming Minds in 2020 after Sam tried to take his own life.
He speaks publicly about his experience in the hope his story encourages others to get help.
“[Farming has] one of the highest suicide rates of any industry [and] the pressures that the farming community are under are beyond immense,” he says. “It’s not a job, it’s a life, it’s a family, it’s everything.”
Recalling the day he tried to end his life, Sam says: “I can remember going to the farm, collecting the livestock.
“[There were] so many different things running through my head that morning, but one of them [was] knowing exactly what I needed to do, that life for me, the pain in my head, just needed to stop… And then I remember being in hospital.”
In recent months, We Are Farming Minds says it has been inundated with farmers in crisis and needing help. Sam and Emily say this is directly linked to the changes in government policy, especially around inheritance tax.
The changes to inheritance tax, revealed in the budget and set to come into force in April 2026, will see death duties payable by some farmers on agricultural and business property.
The Treasury estimates the changes will raise up to £520m a year. Farmers and campaigners say they threaten the future of thousands of multi-generational family farms.
Emily says her charity has “already had 11 counselling referrals this year alone, which is busy for us”.
