The respite aid scheme was launched in 2017 on a French scale by the French agricultural social security fund MSA in collaboration with the Agricultural Replacement Service. The scheme enables farmers in a situation of professional exhaustion to be relieved by the intervention of a replacement agent on their farm to ensure the continuation of the farm.

This case tells the story of a new farmer who moved to the countryside with his family to realise his dream. The demands of the business, his workload and the unexpected  serious illness of his son,  collectively these situations  impacted on family relationships which led to divorce.

Vojtěch Pýcha is a Czech young farmer that co-owns a 150-hectare arable farm operating as a limited liability company. He manages the day-to-day operations, cultivating crops like cereals, sugar beets, and soybeans. Working alongside his father, they hire seasonal workers during the harvest. However, Vojtěch faces mental health challenges due to a heavy workload, balancing farm responsibilities, studying and external representation of farmers' roles. Recently, the company suffered a €50,000 loss due to declining wheat prices, causing stress and uncertainty. Additionally he has found it difficult to share his struggles as others cannot relate to his unique circumstances.

Leena operated Leena's home farm together with her husband. There had been chickens on the farm until 1996, after that the farm continued as a crop farm. In addition, Leena was employed outside of the farm and her husband, Timo, had a forest machinery company. In the fall of 2005, the bank manager, upon seeing the couple, asked if the matters regarding final wills were in order. During the week of Christmas, a situation emerged when a mutual will was made. In January 2006, Timo died in an accident. Leena told us us her story about how she had to manage to move forward in such a situation. Although Leena has had moments where she could have been bitter, she has considered it important that there must be some solace.