​Sam, the founder of We Are Farming Minds which now has as its patron the Prince of Wales, is a well-known local farmer who has struggled with his own mental health. He met the prince at a formal visit to a Herefordshire farm earlier this month. Pictures of Prince William’s Herefordshire farm visit | Hereford Times Prince William prunes trees on Herefordshire farm visit | Hereford Times We Are Farming Minds founder on patron Prince William | Hereford Times Sam who farms near Kingsthorne, will figuratively and literally, pack his farming pressures into a rucksack and trek to London from Ross on Wye, staying with farmers along the way. Sam told us he will be leaving the livestock market at 7am on February 9 and hopes to reach London on February 13 – and so is appealing for farmers along the way to offer bed and board. “It is all about raising awareness and money to tackle suicide in the farming world. Farming is an isolating business and it is tough financially and mentally. I want to draw attention to that and take that message to London.” Sam will be carrying his own problems sewn as lettering on the back of his own hessian rucksack. He will be supporting Young Farmers and Yellow Wellies – or the The Farm Safety Foundation campaign. It reports while farming accounts for just one per cent of the working population, it represents 19 % of all workplace deaths* A total of 23 farm workers and 4 members of the public, including two children, lost their lives on GB farms over the past year. Meanwhile according to We Are Farming Minds, which was established in Herefordshire, it is estimated that three people in the UK farming and agricultural industry die by suicide every week *(HSE Fatal Injuries in Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing Report in GB 2024/2025)