There is a theory about the suicide rate among farmers (which has always been high) that I'm not sure I completely believe, but I don't think it's nonsense. It goes something like:

Farmers (well, I'm speaking mainly about livestock farmers here) spend their lives dealing with death, and doing cost/benefit analysis. When it's time to send an animal to slaughter, they do so. When the vet says some expensive procedure is not likely to work, they kill the animal, even though emotional relationships are built with what is also their capital. They have the weapons to deal with it.

So when a farm is failing, and they are in late middle age, they are more comfortable than average saying, ok, I gave it a try, it didn't work out, I can't start over doing something else. The skill I have spent my life learning is when to give up, and I've got the tool to do it.