Nutrien Ag Solutions and NCFH partner to support Timboon P-12 School students in gearing up for a safe and successful future in agriculture.
Timboon P-12 School students are gearing up for a successful future in agriculture thanks to the support of their local Nutrien Ag Solutions branch.
The National Centre for Farmer Health delivered a Gear Up for Ag Health & SafetyTM program to Year 9-10 AgHort students at Timboon P-12 School last week to build awareness and understanding of farm hazards, and encourage important conversations about health and wellbeing in the agriculture industry—inside and beyond the classroom.
From 2001-2019, 222 Australian children (under 15 years) died as a result of a farming-related incident, with 1000’s more experiencing non-fatal injuries. Embedding health and safety awareness is critical to maintaining the health and wellbeing of our next generation of farmers living and working in the agriculture industry.
The Gear Up for Ag Health & Safety program is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the risks and hazards associated with farm work, and equip them with knowledge and skills necessary to stay safe and healthy on the farm. The program covers a range of topics, from information about agricultural hazards such as noise exposure, working with machinery and livestock, and agrichemicals, to personal safety in high-risk areas. The program includes fun and interactive activities and practical strategies that promote health, wellbeing and safety and minimise the risk of injury and illness on farm.
“Farm safety is an important issue that affects everyone in the agriculture industry—including our young people who often live on farms and frequently get involved in farm work at an early age! Gear Up for AgTM provides students with an incredible opportunity to develop their knowledge and understanding of how they can keep themselves safe,” said Cecilia Fitzgerald, NCFH Business Development and Industry Engagement Manager. “We are grateful for the support of Nutrien Ag Solutions in making this program possible at Timboon P-12 School and helping to ensure the future success of young farmers in the Ag industry.”
The Gear Up for Ag program has now been delivered by the National Centre for Farmer Health to over 400 Victorian secondary school students, with a large portion of those students demonstrating a strong interest in pursuing careers in the agricultural industry.
Following the program, the Ag Hort teacher a Timboon P-12 School, Mr Michael Braham, said “As a teacher, it’s rewarding to see students engaging in hands-on learning that can directly impact their safety and wellbeing. It is fantastic that we have the opportunity to bring programs like this into the school. Students were excited to receive free personal protective equipment to take home, and importantly, received proper instruction on how and when to use it. I have already seen the benefits of the program with students being far more responsible around the chemicals we are using on their gardens.”
For more information about Gear Up for Ag Health & SafetyTM, please visit the National Centre for Farmer Health website www.farmerhealth.org.au. Let’s work together to ensure the health and safety of our next generation of farmers.
Contact
Annabelle Macgugan
NCFH Marketing & Communications Officer
Phone: (03) 5551 8533
Email: amacgugan@wdhs.net
Gear Up – TAP Blog
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Media Release: Call for flood recovery ‘selfies’
Were you affected by the floods? The National Centre for Farmer Health (NCFH) #BuildingFarmSpirit program is calling on Victorian farmers and farm families to share their stories of coping with the stress of flooding, flood recovery and how you dealt with a wet harvest. What builds your spirit?
Building Farm Spirit Project Manager, Sally Cunningham, said stressful periods like floods, prolonged wet conditions and associated production losses often result in farmers suffering from stress and fatigue.
“This can result in operating at less than their best, even months down the track,” Ms Cunningham said.
“A key to recovery from a natural disaster is to remain as healthy as you can and recognise that experiencing high workload, stress and uncertainty following extreme climatic events is entirely normal.
“Building Farm Spirit is the NCFH flood recovery project supporting the wellbeing of Victoria’s flood-impacted farmers through a social media movement.
“The supportive online community provides an opportunity to share stories, videos and photos. To network with other flood affected farmers, farm families and regional businesses, 24/7 without the need to leave home.
“You are not alone. Sharing experiences, tips on recovery and ideas for dealing with the stress and fatigue that comes from the added workload, helps others who may be dealing with similar issues,” Ms Cunningham said.
Your story of recovery after a natural disaster can be submitted onto the #BuildingFarmSpirit Facebook group as a short video, text and photos, even as a poem or song. You can be as creative as you like.
The shared story with the most ‘likes’ by March 31, will receive a workplace first aid kit valued at $180. The next two with the highest number of ‘likes’ will each receive a vehicle first aid kit. Please don’t show any unsafe activities. T&Cs are available on the website: https://farmerhealth.org.au/buildingfarmspirit
Resources for dealing with stress, grants to boost local community support, a list of contacts for emotional and social wellbeing support and more are available at www.farmerhealth.org.au/buildingfarmspirit
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Sally Cunningham is available for interview: (03) 5551 8533 or email: sally.cunningham@wdhs.net
For a higher resolution copy of the photo, email lgrey@wdhs.net
For more information about the National Centre for Farmer Health Flood Response or to access a list of support resources, visit www.farmerhealth.org.au/buildingfarmspirit or contact Project Officer, Sally Cunningham
For more information about National Centre for Farmer Health visit www.farmerhealth.org.au
For media and communications enquiries contact the National Centre for Farmer Health Marketing Communications Coordinator, Annabelle Macgugan on (03) 5551 8582 or email: amacgugan@wdhs.net
Farmer Health eNews March 2023
Find out the latest from the National Centre for Farmer Health
- Working together to promote a healthy and thriving farming community
- Collaboration aims to improve farmer health and wellbeing through telehealth services
- New publication: ‘Steering Straight: Adapting suicide risk safety planning as a prevention-focused self-management resource for the Australian farming community’
- Wellness Wednesday
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Podcast: Some things stay the same, but shouldn’t
Research Assistant and PhD Candidate Jessie Adams spoke with Dr Richard Franklin about the importance of child safety on farms for the Farm Safe podcast.
Jessie Adams comes from a rural background and is a Researcher and PhD Student at Deakin University. Jessie is exploring ways to ensure the safety of children on Farms. She has recently undertaken a review of the Australian literature to understand the key hazards and risk factors for child injuries on farms.
Listen here:
NCFH – Making a difference to farmers’ lives in 2022
The National Centre for Farmer Health (NCFH) continues to empower Australian farmers and their families to take charge of their health, wellbeing and safety, delivering 293 health assessments in 2022.
The Centre’s position as a national leader in the health, wellbeing and safety of Australian farmers and farming communities was reaffirmed upon the recent release of its Year in Review.
The document showed the positive impact NCFH has made to building evidence in its field, conducting 13 research projects which led to the release of 17 publications across 2022.
“We are excited to share what we have achieved in the last 12 months. We’ve continued to innovate and find ways to engage with and support our farming communities—through direct services, education programs and research.” (NCFH Director, Alison Kennedy)
The culmination of the Primary Producer Knowledge Network (PPKN) in 2022, was a highlight for the Centre’s research achievements.
In partnership with Western District Health Service (WDHS), Deakin University, University of SA, Griffith University, and Cath Cosgrove Consulting, PPKN worked with farmers, fishers and industry partners to develop practical strategies to reduce work-related risks to mental health. The project—supported by WorkSafe Victoria’s WorkWell Mental Health Improvement Fund—brought together industry leaders and over 120 partners to produce ‘Campfire’—including 20 podcasts (11 new episodes produced in 2022), 24 interactive Q&A sessions, 27 blogs and 22 roadshow events across Victoria. Topics released in 2022 included flood recovery, child safety on farm, biosecurity, responding to climate change, succession planning and farm crime, among others.
“…I would highly recommend Campfire to my farming peers as a great way to source information.” (Farmer participating in Campfire)
In 2022, with a profound media reach of 1,838,800, and a growing social media following of over 7000, the Centre also helped to spread key messaging via 24 conference and 20 community presentations.
To further expand its reach and build strong relationships with like-minded organisations who share the NCFH vision of making a difference to farmers’ lives, the Centre worked in collaboration with 15 health partners and 90 research and industry partners.
These collaborations resulted in a wide range of outcomes including the expanded reach of NCFH health programs, the development of a Community of Practice to support resilience in farming communities, and the delivery of 17 professional development workshops to 234 rural and health professionals.
In September, the Farming a Brighter Future symposium enabled its 103 attendees to connect, network and learn with the industry’s best in a face-to-face environment.
Through a combination of workshops, panel discussions and presentations, the event provided a forum to foster learning, promote discussion and extend collaborative networks to make a difference to farmers’ lives, both now and into the future.
Attendees heard from engaging and award-winning speakers covering a wide range of topics including the portrayal of safe farm practices in media and social media, working dogs and mental health, and telehealth strategies for supporting farmers returning to work after stroke.
“Farming a Brighter Future provided an extraordinary opportunity to bring farmers, researchers, policy makers and industry into one room to learn from each other and work together to shape the future of farmer health, wellbeing and safety” (NCFH Director, Alison Kennedy)
The Centre’s Gear Up for Ag™ program reached 109 secondary students across eight programs delivered in 2022, building on the 13 programs delivered the previous year.
Recognising young people as central to an innovative and sustainable agriculture future, Gear Up for Ag engages students in a practical, fun and interactive way while providing evidence-based education.
The program builds student knowledge of farm hazards and understanding of the importance of safe practices to positively influence farm safety behaviours.
“2023 is building up to be another big year for farmer health, wellbeing and safety. We’re excited to once again be able to deliver research programs, services and education programs face-to-face in farming communities across Australia. We’re also continuing to find effective new ways to engage farmers and share information, including online webinars and education programs, community events and podcasts.” (NCFH Director, Alison Kennedy)
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For more information about National Centre for Farmer Health visit www.farmerhealth.org.au. For media and communications enquiries please contact WDHS Marketing Communications Coordinator, Annabelle Macgugan on (03) 5551 8582 or email: amacgugan@wdhs.net.
For more information about National Centre for Farmer Health visit www.farmerhealth.org.au
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Steering Straight: Adapting suicide risk safety planning as a prevention-focused self-management resource for the Australian farming community
Abstract
Objective
This paper draws on the principles of suicide risk safety planning to co-design a farming community resource for preventing and managing risks to mental health.
Setting
This project was undertaken in the Great South Coast Region of Victoria, Australia.
Participants
A working group (n = 6–8) from the Victorian farming community contributed to the iterative co-design and co-production of Steering Straight: My plan to keep on track. Twenty-four members of the farming community pilot tested Steering Straight.
Design
Co-design to develop, pilot and refine the resource with working group and target farming community.
Results
Steering Straight was viewed positively by the farming community as a tool that prompts prioritising well-being; encourages reflection, planning and concrete steps towards taking action; helps set and meet personal goals; is simple and practical; and identifies pathways to support. Most participants (94%) completed Steering Straight on their own, taking approximately 15–30 min to create their personalised plan. Questions most likely to be filled in related to recognising personal signs of deteriorating well-being and listing and planning enjoyable activities. A majority of participants (67%) kept a hard copy of their Steering Straight plan on hand to refer back to, while 78% expressed a preference for a digital version.
Conclusion
The co-design and co-production process resulted in a tailored prevention-focused resource that was accepted and valued by the farming community.
Media Release: Grants available to build farm spirit
Are you planning a community event to help the health and wellbeing of farmers and farm families impacted by the floods and flood recovery?
The National Centre for Farmer Health (NCFH) #BuildingFarmSpirit program is partnering with Victoria’s community groups, local agriculture industry, not-for-profit organisations, sporting clubs and individuals with grants of $500 to $1,500 for activities that provide social connection and mental health promotion for farmers and farming communities.
Social connection is an important part of supporting farmer mental health. You may like to host a barbeque lunch or dinner and get a local speaker who has lived experience to share their story, follow your AGM or regular meeting with a guest speaker, start a walking group, book-club or podcast community or tie an activity to a local festival.
If you have an idea for a community event or program that promotes social connection and wellbeing for farmers and farm families, go to www.farmerhealth.org.au/buildingfarmspirit and register your interest.
In addition, the social media campaign, #BuildingFarmSpirit, enables Victorian farmers and farming families affected by flood, to share stories, ideas and tips with others, without the need to leave the farm during the increased workload of flood recovery.
NCFH flood recovery response project officer, Sally Cunningham, said the social media campaign was a ‘welcoming space’ for farmers to share stories about navigating challenging times.
“Short videos, written stories and poems on how they are maintaining their wellbeing during this challenging time, helps to build a shared understanding and online social connection,” Ms Cunningham said.
“While our farming communities often have limited formal resources to effectively manage challenges, there are many human stories to be told that express emotion, raise awareness, reduce stigma, start conversations, develop empathy and provide inspiration to take positive action.”
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Sally Cunningham is available for interview: (03) 5551 8533 or email: sally.cunningham@wdhs.net
For a higher resolution copy of the photo, email lgrey@wdhs.net
For more information about the National Centre for Farmer Health Flood Response or to access a list of support resources, visit www.farmerhealth.org.au/buildingfarmspirit or contact Project Officer, Sally Cunningham
For more information about National Centre for Farmer Health visit www.farmerhealth.org.au
For media and communications enquiries contact the National Centre for Farmer Health Marketing Communications Coordinator, Annabelle Macgugan on (03) 5551 8582 or email: amacgugan@wdhs.net
Taking a look back at 2022…
2022 was a year of significant growth and development for the National Centre for Farmer Health. We’re continuing to expand our work with farmers, industry stakeholders, health partners, government and research institutions. In response to the challenges and opportunities faced by the agricultural industry, the NCFH is providing services, education, research, and advocacy to ensure farmers can access support, tools and information to empower them to improve their health, wellbeing and safety.
We created the following summary infographic to highlight our work and impact across 2022. Reach out to our team via ncfh@wdhs.net if you have any questions.
Farmer Health eNews February 2023
Find out the latest from the National Centre for Farmer Health
- Join us to learn how to help your clients out of the mud
- Applications close on February 19th!
- Taking a look back…
- Wellness Wednesday