The state of mental health in the farming industry is receiving attention lately.

President of the NL Federtation of Agriculture, Mervin Wiseman, says farming has the highest suicide rate of any other occupation in the country

He says it’s a seven day work week with 16 to 18 hour days which can have an immense toll on one physically and mentally.

He adds there is also major uncertainty in the job. You don’t know when the next storm is going to wipe out this year’s crop, this year’s proceeds and revenues to pay your bills and so on. You don’t know when the next trade dispute is going to happen and your products and market are just wiped out overnight.

Another young farmer, Greg Taylor, also had input on the conversation. He says if young people had to go through what he’s gone through they would give up.

He says it’s unbelievable what he’s after going through. Taylor says they got stop work orders on him and he can’t get any funding. They’re talking about stress and depression, he adds, because it’s not just the crops farmers have to worry about.

Minister of Fisheries and Lands, Gerry Byrne, says the government does things to help young farmers such as providing grants up to $3,000 per acre for getting the land production ready, transplants for a next to zero cost in order to create, and faster and more efficient crop and grants for equipment such as tractors.