Why increasing number of farmers are at crisis point - and Prince William is being urged to 'speak up'

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".

"I think people are just feeling that... it is the straw that broke the camel's back," she added

"You've got the weather... you've got variance in prices all the time. You've got... livestock dying. Everything's so out of your control, and then to not have the support of your government is a massive, a massive impact on everybody."

As tenants on the Duchy estate, they have received support from their landlord, Prince William, financially, through private meetings and support for their events.

"He certainly doesn't say that he knows everything there is to know about farming," Emily says, but adds: "It's really great to be able to feed back to him and increase his knowledge as well about issues within the farming community."

But what William is prepared to say on farming more widely right now really matters.

He became one of Britain's biggest landowners when he inherited the Duchy of Cornwall, which funds the heir to the throne.

This is why his actions are significant to hundreds of tenant farmers on that land, as well as the wider farming community.

And it's why Gareth Wyn Jones, a farmer from North Wales who has been heavily involved in the recent farming protests, is disappointed in what he's seen.

Gareth says the Prince of Wales and the wider Royal Family have a "duty" to do more.

Speaking about farmers who contact him on social media, he says: "When you speak to a farmer who's lost his dad a couple of nights before, and his father took his own life the night before the budget, because he had the good inclination that this was going to happen, it's heartbreaking. It's absolutely heartbreaking."

He added: "They've been very, very quiet, the prince and the King, to be honest with you. But I suppose if it doesn't go into their pockets, the inheritance tax won't bother them.

"Prince William has the Duchy of Cornwall, now he's running that, he should be connecting to these people. He should be talking to these people.

"These people have a duty to the farming community and to the countryside community to speak up, speak up for the people that are struggling and suffering."

More from Sky News:
What's the beef with farmers' inheritance tax?
Royals' estates 'making millions from public bodies'

A government spokesperson told Sky News: "We understand the importance of mental health support and this government is committed to tackling the mental health crisis in our farming communities.

"That's why we are investing billions of pounds and recruiting 8,500 mental health professionals across the NHS.

"More widely, we are going further with reforms to boost profits for farmers by backing British produce, reforming planning rules on farms to support food production, and making the supply chain work more fairly."

I spoke to Prince William at a recent Duchy event, where he told me that since taking over the estate there have been certain things he's wanted to change - which is why, across the estate, there is now an increased focus on mental health, homelessness and a push for the Duchy be net zero by the end of 2032.

It feels like a blueprint for his priorities as heir to the throne and a way of him showing what him, and his advisers, mean when they talk about showing "empathic leadership".

He has publicly spoken about being an ardent supporter of the farming community, but with farmers and the government at loggerheads, it does highlight the quandary for an heir to the throne wanting to show more empathic leadership on key social issues, and the risk of overstepping the lines of political neutrality.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

(c) Sky News 2025: Why increasing number of farmers are at crisis point - and Prince William is being urge