Farmers have warned there is mental health crisis looming in the industry after Rachel Reeves’ budget upended their livelihoods and left many wondering what they’d spent their lives working for.
Last night, TV presenter and farmer Gareth Wyn Jones confirmed the tragic suicide of one elderly farmer, saying: “I’ve just come off the phone with a farmer whose father took his own life recently.
“He explained how the stress and the strain had got to him. It’s a very very sad time. My condolences and my heartfelt messages to the family. I hope you can pull through.
“I hate to say it but I don’t think it will be the first or the last.
“It’s a very very serious and very very low ebb for the industry with everything that’s been thrown at them.
“I think government really should be looking at themselves and what they’re doing to the countryside, to farming families and to the whole economy.”
Jones’ message was in response to an anonymous post widely shared on social media written by the son of the farmer who tragically took his own life before the budget was announced.
It said: “[He was] So afraid of the possible IHT implications on farms he took his own life rather than see the government take half the farm in IHT. As a family we are devastated and in shock!
“This is the human cost of government policy or potential government policy.
“They claim to be for the working man, no man worked harder than dad, he increased the acreage from my grandad’s day and was proud of what he had achieved!
“The potential for all his hard work to be lost in IHT was too much. I don’t know but I believe he aimed to beat the budget by ending his life.
“No amount of land is worth that sacrifice, but when you have built something your entire life and can see it being robbed from beneath your children’s feet, this is what happens.”
The National Farmers Union (NFU) said it could not verify this.
Days after the post was made, Labour announced a 20 per cent tax on farm assets over £1million,saddling farmers with a huge tax bill many will be unable to pay from farm income as farms tend to be asset–rich but cash–poor.
As a result, farmers will be forced to sell chunks of land to foot the tax bill, breaking up land that has been passing down through families for generations, damaging the fabric of Britain’s countryside and worsening our food security.
The farming community, already under great strain from adverse weather, low prices and rising costs, and who had been repeatedly promised by Labour in opposition their relief would not be tampered with, reacted with fury and dismay.
Di Clements, a dairy farmer in southwest Wales, said: “I’m stunned. We’ve slogged our guts out for 40 years, making so many sacrifices, and it’s all been for what? To saddle our children with a huge debt when we die.
“Many farmers will just give up. I feel gutted. Three farmers have taken their own lives in the last six weeks. I think there will be more. Terrible day.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves delivered her Budget to the House of Commons last week
PA
Many farming charities have been warning of worsening mental health in farming over the last few years, before the budget was announced.
Stephanie Berkeley, Managing Director at the Farm Safety Foundation, said: “This is the most challenging time in the industry that I can recall.
“Farmers have been struggling with rising production costs, low margins, extreme weather events, Brexit and now uncertainty about the future of the family farm.”
She highlighted their recent surveys showing 95 per cent of farmers under 40 believe that poor mental health is the biggest hidden problem facing the industry, and 91 per cent of farmers believe that farm safety and mental health are directly linked.
“472,000 people work in farming in the UK – a mere one per cent of the working population – but agriculture accounts for 16 per cent of all deaths in the workplace (HSE).
“In an industry with the poorest safety record of any occupation in the UK, making sure we are looking after our physical and mental wellbeing is vital.”
Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show that in 2021 alone, 36 farmers across the UK took their own lives and 22 died in accidents.
Fallout over Labour’s decision to impose a inheritance tax on farms has centred on the figures involved, with Labour defending the decision as a means to stop the wealthy dodging tax by buying up farmland.
Reeves and DEFRA secretary Steve Reed have argued it is a ‘fair and balanced’ way to raise money after inheriting a ‘£22 million black hole’, with Reed even saying farmers must have ‘to learn to do more with less’.
They argue the tax will not affect 72 per cent of farms, but this figure has been heavily disputed by the NFU and CLA who state it is more likely to affect 66 per cent of farms.
They argue the Treasury has used the wrong data to calculate their 72 per cent statistic because farmers also made claims for relief under a separate scheme, meaning they have undervalued many farms.
Another sticking point is over the amount the tax will raise. Critics say the Treasury’s estimation of raising £520 million a year by 2030- enough to fund the NHS for one day and five hours- is a drop in the ocean and not worth the misery and uncertainty inflicted on farmers.
The Country Land and Business Association refute this and state the figure is more likely £120million.
No matter whose figures are correct, it is farmers who are enduring the uncertainty.
Olly Harrison, a cereal farmer near Liverpool, told GB News on the morning of the budget: “If I find out today that I’ve worked all my life to hand my farm down to my kids only for someone who thinks they’re Robin f**king Hood to take it all away, I’ll be the first to drive my tractor down to London.
“Food production will be gone in a generation, this is madness. I now can’t afford to die.
“I was only doing it for my kids, no one owns a farm you only look after it for the next generation. Now 20 per cent of it [after the threshold] the government wants when I die. What is the point? I’m lost for words.”
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Olly Harrison, a cereal farmer near Liverpool, warned: “I now can’t afford to die.”
Olly Harrison
A national protest has been organised by the NFU for November 18 as President Tom Bradshaw warns ‘farmers want to be militant’.
Meanwhile, a petition to ‘overturn the family farm tax’ has reached 150,000 signatures today.
If you are affected by this news, please see the NFU’s page helping people find wellbeing and support in their area.
https://www.nfuonline.com/updates-and-information/find-wellbeing-support-in-your-area/?utm_source=social&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=post
Stephanie Berkeley of the Farm Safety Foundation added: “In light of recent events, our message to anyone concerned or anxious about the impact it will have on their family farm should seek professional guidance and explore and discuss the options available with the family.
“If you are struggling with your mental health or concerned about someone, please reach out to access support from charities like RABI, FCN, RSABI, Rural Support or DPJ Foundation.”
The Samaritans also add: “If you’re going through a tough time, you don’t have to face it alone.
Call free day or night on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org.”
