Some 56 registered suicides among farmers, horticulturalists and farm managers took place last year, the highest number in over a decade, according to provisional figures released by the Rural Stress Information Network from the Office of National Statistics. Figures for the whole industry are even higher at 77. NFU president Ben Gill warned that the final figures for 1999 still had to be released and that the figures for 2000 could be even worse. "This report is more than figures, it represents a catalogue of misery, broken families and despair," said Mr Gill. "The NFU is committed to its continuing campaign to ensure that everything that can be done is being done to help turn around this desperate situation."