A look back on Look Over the Farm Gate events

In 2025, the Look Over the Farm Gate program helped communities come together and support farming families under stress in drought-impacted regions of Victoria.

We share how event organisers used the Tackling the Tough Topics guidelines to plan, deliver and review the success of their event.

Film screening

Date of event: 29 August 2025

Location: Fish Creek, Victoria

Organiser: Marge Arnup, Fish Creek Memorial Hall

This event screened the film, Just a Farmer, with guest speaker Warren Davies (The Unbreakable Farmer, pictured above). Our aim was to bring the community together to raise awareness and start a conversation about supporting the positive mental health of our farming community. 

We had 187 attendees including farmers, their families and people representing stock agents, health providers, a dairy manufacturing company, rural support services and the general public also attending. Hundreds took the opportunity to meet up and socialise before and after the film – a great chance to bolster community resilience and share experiences.  

We provided one showbag per family (pictured left) which had lots of contributions in addition to the NCFH resources. This was enabled by the contributions of local sponsors. Any resources remaining went to the local medical clinic and hospital for distribution.

One lady who attended was particularly grateful for the materials because she could share them with a family member who was struggling and did not come to the event. She got lots of ideas for conversation starters and was glad to have the directory of how to access local support services which was produced for the event. 

How did you use Tackling the Tough Topics to plan and develop your event?  

In the planning phase for this event there was lots of community interest and funding/support from several organisations. We already had skills in running community events, but Tackling the Tough Topics gave us an ability to work together effectively and remain very focused on our objectives. 

The guidelines gave us courage and confidence to talk about mental health concerns in our farming community, knowing that we had covered our bases and doing the event in a safe and respectful way. It meant we paid attention to details that might have otherwise been overlooked. The templates and checklists were great.

What feedback did you receive from attendees?  

This event really brought the community together to have new conversations in a positive way. People identified strongly with the issues raised in the film and with Warren Davies as a speaker with his own lived experience as a farmer with struggles who had found a way forward.

“It was a fantastic, community focused evening, thank you to everyone who helped to pull it together! Such generosity in our community. The lovingly homemade supper food was lovely, great idea to be able to mingle, snack and chat. Warren’s presentation was a great touch and the support materials provided are fantastic. And the film Just a Farmer…is a well-made film with strong positive messages.”

We are planning to run similar events around farmer mental health and wellbeing and how we can support each other in the months ahead. We started some important conversations, and we want to build on this momentum by maybe having a panel discussion with local farmers about how they have negotiated tough seasons/issues in farming.  

Night golf

Date of event: 30 August 2025

Location: Boorhaman, Victoria

Organiser: Marcus Neal, Boorhaman Golf Club

Our Look Over the Farm Gate event at Boorhaman Golf Club was designed to bring the farming community together for a night that combined fun, connection, and meaningful conversation. We know how isolating rural life can be, especially for farmers, so we wanted to create an event that felt light-hearted and welcoming – but still gave space to talk about the serious stuff. 

We started the evening with night golf, which was a great way to get people out of the house and onto the course in a relaxed setting. It helped break the ice and gave everyone a chance to enjoy themselves before we moved into the more formal part of the evening. After the golf, we shared a sit-down dinner and heard from Brett from Project 365 in Wangaratta (pictured above). Brett spoke openly about mental health challenges faced by farmers in Western Australia, including members of his own family. His story really resonated with the crowd and helped frame the night with honesty and purpose. 

How did you use Tackling the Tough Topics to plan and develop your event?

The Tackling the Tough Topics guidelines were a great help in shaping the event. They gave us a clear framework to work from, helping us: 

• Focus on the issues most relevant to our community, like financial stress, isolation and mental health. 
• Make sure we had appropriate support materials and contacts available. 
• Prepare our volunteers and committee members to respond appropriately if someone needed help. 

We placed the handouts provided on each dinner table, and also set up an exhibition table where attendees could freely take information. We were mindful that mental health can be a difficult topic to disclose, so we wanted to make sure people could access resources privately and without pressure. 

Having the guidelines available gave us confidence that we were approaching things the right way. It helped us move beyond just hosting a social night – we were able to create something that had real meaning and impact.

The guidelines also helped us be more intentional in how we framed the evening, how we supported attendees, and how we followed up afterwards.

What feedback did you receive from attendees?

The feedback was really positive. People appreciated the chance to come together in a relaxed setting and talk about things that are often kept quiet. Brett’s talk was a standout – many attendees said they saw reflections of their own experiences in his stories, and that it helped them feel seen and understood. 

We also had people ask if we’d consider running more events like this, and a few offered to help out next time. It was clear that the night made a real impact. 

We’re now looking at ways to build on the momentum from this event. There’s a strong appetite in our community for more opportunities to connect and support one another, and we’re exploring ideas for future events that combine sport, social connection, and mental health awareness – all with that Boorhaman spirit.

More information

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