Farming is so much more than a job. It’s a way of life that often involves multiple generations of the same family - children, parents, grandparents - and nowhere more so than in Wales where most farms are family-run businesses.

It can be one of the most stressful ways to earn a living too as farmers work long hours, pretty much seven days a week, 365 days a year.

There are huge pressures that farmers face daily, many that they have no or little control over, like the weather and the disparity between the income they receive for farm outputs and the cost of inputs.

There is great expectation on growers and livestock producers to deliver much more than food alone; they must combat pollution, improve biodiversity and help mitigate the impact of climate change.

Regulation is another worry, with it the threat of an unannounced inspection at any time. All this is never too far from a farmer’s mind.

With all that in combination, why on earth would anyone choose to farm?

Farmers and farmworkers make huge sacrifices to keep the nation fed and to maintain our landscape yet sometimes they put more care into their work than looking after their mental and physical wellbeing.

It is little wonder that poor mental health is one of the biggest problems facing the industry today, hidden often because many farmers work in isolation or don’t feel able to discuss and share their worries, putting on a brave face when they see friends and family or catch up with fellow farmers at a meeting, summer show or the local mart.

It explains why there are now so many calls to helplines run by rural charities like the DPJ Foundation here in Wales, cries for help that are escalating in number year on year.

We must count ourselves very fortunate that we have these charities, often staffed by people who volunteer their time to provide that vital support.

They will have helped many people in the very communities we live and work in without us even knowing it. These will be our neighbours and acquaintances, sometimes friends and family.

We owe these charities and volunteers an enormous debt of gratitude for the lives they have saved and will continue to save.