You’d struggle to find a better bloke than Jason Smith.

The 39-year-old dairy farmer from Swan Marsh, near Colac, in Victoria’s drought-stricken South West, is articulate, intelligent, passionate and devastated.

In 2017, he was Australia’s Young Farmer Of The Year — a shining light of his industry.

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A fifth-generation farmer, he loved farming and its lifestyle so much the government used him as an ambassador to try to attract young people back to the land.

But now, after two years of drought, constant battles with governments and banks, he is in huge debt.

He can no longer afford workers on his farm.

The stress led to his relationship breakdown.

Now he works 18 hours a day on his 400 hectares — totally alone.

He can go a week without seeing or talking to anyone.

Finding feed for his 900 cows is a never ending struggle.

When we went to his farm to interview him, I knew it was bad.

But Jason’s brutally honest, stark admission rocked me.

“I didn’t trust myself,” he said.

”So I gave the keys to my gun safe to my neighbour. I just didn’t want the temptation. It’s been really low. It’s been really hard. It all comes at you all at once and it gets really dark.”

I found tears welling in my eyes.

I had to turn away.

Fortunately, after a message from a friend, Jason sought counselling and treatment.

He stresses help is out there.

But he also stresses he is one of hundreds going through exactly the same struggle with mental health on the land.

So he’s launched a personal crusade.

Farmers have suffered in silence too long.

They must get out and talk about the heartbreaking mental health impacts of this drought.

It helps them — but also the general community needs to know the full extent of it and what it means for food production and our rural communities.

Making enough people care is a start to finding solutions.

Listening to Jason Smith you can’t help but care.

He symbolises a crisis we must no longer ignore.

If you or anyone you know needs help, you can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

You can watch Jason Smith’s full story of what it means to be a dairy farmer in Australia tonight at 6pm, live on 7 and 7plus.