Suffolk pastor supporting farmers with mental health issues warns the sector is at breaking point
He says it's because of things like rising costs, low profits and planned inheritance tax changes - which we'll hear more about this week.
A pastor in Suffolk says he's seeing more and more farmers coming to him for support with their mental health.
People in the sector tell us a perfect storm of things like rising costs, inheritance tax and low profits are impacting their wellbeing.
Graham Miles is the agricultural chaplain for the Diocese of Saint Edmundsbury. He comes from a farming background, and tells us that helps him understand some of the strains the industry's faced.
Because of his work helping farmers with their mental health, he was recently invited to meet with King Charles, who he spoke to about his concerns:
"The invitation came through because I'm the Suffolk representative for the Royal Countryside Fund, which is out there to support rural communities or rural activities and farming.
"I was a very privileged and it was honour to do it.
"Everyone was so, so warming, I didn't feel they were above me. Everyone seemed on the same level, which was really nice. All the staff in the palace were so nice and polite and helpful."
Graham told us he wasn't sure whether or not he would have an opportunity to speak to King Charles III and was told he had to wait for his Majesty to hold his hand out for a handshake before they did.
To Graham's delight King Charles held out his hand to him: "I nodded my head and we started talking.
"He put you at ease. He looked at my name badge and called me Graham and we started talking about the farming issues that were out there and he was saying there are a lot, you know, there's a lot that farmers are dealing with at the moment.
"I was telling him about the work that I was doing and some of the mental health problems, including suicide, and at that stage he put his hand on my shoulder and thanked me for all I was doing.
"... There were other support groups there from other organisations and I think we were all telling the same story to him about the work that we're doing and the issues that farmers are facing."
"Farmers are very reluctant to talk. They try to keep things to themselves."
We then asked Graham if he could go into more detail about the conversations he's been having with the agriculture community.
He said: "There are so many issues that farmers are now facing, which are causing a lot of stress, anxiety, mental health and well-being.
"It's such a sad situation, when a farmer comes up to you and says 'family would be better off without me' and things like that...it's those situations that we're picking up and it's so important that we are there for them."
Graham told us he wants to encourage more farmers to talk about how they're feeling instead of bottling it up: "Farmers are very reluctant to talk.
"They try to keep things to themselves...
"They can call me up at any time and just have a chat, have a rant and rave, just to offload, which is good, that's my message I'm trying to get out...
"They won't admit that they're struggling and it's important that we can get them to talk, because when a farmer comes and says to you, 'my family will be better off if I wasn't here', that sends me warning signs.
"...What I can do is be there when they want me and hold out a hand to them and listen to them. I can't wave a magic wand. I wish I could."