Bavaria: One farmer dies by suicide every week

A study published in Bavaria's Federal Health Bulletin concludes that one person from the German agricultural sector takes their own life every week, with a suicide rate more than three times higher than in other professional groups. Falling prices, costs and debt are behind it.

The harvest is in and the barns are not filling up. In Bavaria, potato yields are down **24 %** and cereals **7 %** compared with the previous year, according to figures used by the sector. Drought and heat explain much of the disaster. But the problem does not end in the field: producer prices have fallen, energy and fertiliser costs have soared, debts are tightening and the succession of farms is uncertain. With that cocktail, more and more farmers see no way out.

## One suicide a week in the German countryside

The starkest figure comes from a recent Bavarian study published in the **Federal Health Bulletin**: every week, one person working in an agriculture-related profession takes their own life. The suicide rate among farmers is more than three times higher than in other professional groups. The federal Minister of Agriculture, **Alois Rainer**, 61 and a member of the CSU, already speaks of a "crisis of national proportions".

Behind the figures are farms that cannot make ends meet. **Andrea Rahn-Farr**, 54 and vice-president of the Hesse Farmers' Association, sums it up with a heavy phrase: "Nobody wants to be the one who closes the farm". In her case, the family farm has almost **400 dairy cows** in Büdingen, in Hesse, and even so the accounts do not add up.

## 40 cents a litre that do not cover the costs

Rahn-Farr knows the business down to the last detail: she knows how much milk each cow gives, its fat and protein content, and how much it eats. She also knows she loses money on every litre. She receives about **40 cents per litre** of milk and would need at least **45** to cover costs. Diesel has become **79 %** more expensive and fertiliser **59 %**. The wages of her seven employees come out of her savings.

The collapse in milk prices peaked in early **2026**, according to **Hans Foldenauer**, 69, of the Federal Association of German Dairy Farmers, which brings together **10,000 farms** and **30,000 members**. His diagnosis: a shortfall of **25 to 30 per cent**. Milk prices are back at **1989** levels.

## The weight of being unable to pass on the legacy

The economic dimension explains a lot, but not everything. The uncertainty over who will continue the farm adds a burden that does not show up on the balance sheets. Rahn-Farr describes it as a weight on the farmer's soul: the farm is not just a business, it is what was inherited, and no one wants to be the first to close it.

That emotional component, combined with debt and the feeling of working at a loss, paints a picture that rural mental health services have long been flagging. The Bavarian study puts it in figures: one death every seven days.

If you or someone close to you is going through a situation like this, it is advisable to talk to a healthcare professional or call a suicide prevention helpline.