Episode 21: “Children and Flood Recovery”

Jane Nursey from Phoenix Australia explores how floods and difficult farming seasons can impact the mental health and wellbeing of children and adolescents in farm families.

Now streaming on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and below.

This podcast was created as part of the NCFH’s #BuildingFarmSpirit campaign with funding from the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions as part of the Victorian Government’s 2022 flood response.

LEARN MORE ABOUT #BUILDINGFARMSPIRIT #BuildingFarmSpirit | National Centre for Farmer Health

Who is on your support team for flood recovery?

Factors in your workplace can impact on your mental health – such as poor workplace support and training, safety, poor workplace relationships, issues with communication and how change is managed. These are called work-related factors, which when not addressed can increase the risks of workplace stress or lead to poor workplace mental health. However, there are some simple ways to reduce these risks on your farm.

Rory admits he has had a tough few months on his dairy farm in central Victoria. With double the average rainfall in October and November, the creeks broke their banks and eighty percent of his farm flooded. That included 400 acres of crop and most of his ryegrass paddocks. His lost 3000 bales of hay and most of his retained seed for sowing next year. Thankfully the house didn’t go under, and nor did the dairy and yards, thanks to the new ring levy we put in after the last flood.  Access was certainly an issue for quite a while and the tinny came in handy until the water went down.

He had to do his best to find dry ground for his dairy herd and has been feeding out like crazy.  The heifers have been trucked off elsewhere on agistment. Donated hay by the truckload has been really helpful. Animal health issues have kept him busy too.

So Rory is feeling pretty tired and has felt a lot of stress about how his business will survive financially and how he will get through all the work in front of him. He is an optimist though and has been taking things a step at a time. He has to make himself focus on the things within his control and let go of those he can’t. Easier said than done…!

Ten years ago, the last time the farm got flooded, Rory learned a few things about keeping his head straight in the months following. He is trying to put in place the strategy he and Dad worked out through those turbulent months. He definitely wants to avoid reaching the same level of stress as they did back then.

When he feels overwhelmed by the workload he tries to take a break to refresh and recharge. He isn’t always thinking as clearly as usual, and sometimes feels he is chasing his tail. So he has found he needs to make lists of jobs, to prioritise and plan.  There are some jobs that will just have to wait.

His wife, Emma has insisted that he doesn’t get so completely buried in his farm work that he skips out on regular catch ups with friends and family. She has been working hard too with extra shifts in the dairy and making sure there are enough workers to cover the milking shifts, when one of the regular milkers needed time off to deal with their own house being inundated in the flood. Emma made sure that the staff always know what is going on, and they have really chipped in and worked as a team, not just with extra hours, but on problem solving some of the issues that have come up. Rory is trying to remember to acknowledge this and encourage them, so has tried to reward the successes along the way. He tries to be positive and upbeat and remember that this is a stressful time for everyone, not just him.

Rory checks in on some of the neighbours pretty often because they got hit pretty hard too. It’s good to talk with each other about their daily struggles and to help each other practically where they can. It makes Rory feel less alone in his struggles. Funnily enough the most helpful bloke to talk with was the agronomist who helped Rory plan out his feed budget and sowing strategy for the next six months. The vet was also great at solving some of the problems with the cows and preventing other issues arising through better management strategies. That really took a big weight off his mind.

Rory managed to work out a bit of a financial plan and took it to the bank manager who adjusted a few of his loan repayments. Even got some money on a government grant to help cover clean up and rebuilding costs and re-sow the lost crop. Rory said the load felt lighter once he had a workable plan and knew he had a team of people who could help support him through these bumpy months of recovery from the impact of the flood. He has even found the time to get back to pre-season footy training so he can hang out with a few of his mates and keep his fitness up which makes him feel much better.

Injuries on the farm can lead to stress, long-term health concerns and loss of income or even fatalities, so preventing them from happening is the best way of protecting your mental health. When it comes to running the family farm, investing in mental health initiatives is not only good for your family and workers, but it’s good for business too.

The NCFH is supporting farmers just like you to manage and respond to work-related risks that impact on workplace mental health – these are factors in your work that can affect an employee’s mental health and include poor environmental conditions, low job control, low role clarity and more.

Managing these factors, means decreasing the risk of work-related stress.
Find out more about being mentally safe on farm at www.farmerhealth.org.au/campfire.

Episode 20: “Thinking through the flood recovery journey”

This episode features speaker Dr Lauren Stracey, from Rural Aid, an experienced and passionate psychologist who expertly manages Rural Aid’s team of counsellors from her Sydney base.

Rural Aid is dedicated to improving the mental health outcomes of rural Australia – offering free, confidential support to farmers and their families.

They are trained to help their communities with a range of services, from early intervention and health promotion, right through to treatment using evidence-based interventions. They usually visit farmers on their properties.

Counsellors – Rural Aid – Supporting Rural Communities

Now streaming on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and here.

This podcast is part of the Primary Producer Knowledge Network led by the National Centre for Farmer Health to promote mentally healthy workplaces. Campfire, part of the Primary Producer Knowledge Network, was funded by the Victorian State Government’s WorkSafe WorkWell Mental Health Improvement Fund.

Utilizing the Delphi method to develop parent and child surveys to understand exposure to farming hazards and attitudes toward farm safety

Abstract

Children on farms are at increased risk of injury. In Australia, children under 15 years consistently represent ~15% of all farm-related fatalities. This study aimed to develop parent and child surveys to gain a greater understanding of children’s (5–14 years) exposure to occupational risk on farms by exploring their exposure to farm hazards, risk-taking behavior, their use and attitudes toward safety measures, and their experience of farm-related injury. As farming communities are heterogeneous, a modified Delphi method was undertaken to ensure input from a diverse group. Seventeen experts participated in a three-round process—the first two rounds required rating of proposed survey questions in an online questionnaire and the final round was an online discussion. Consensus was defined as 75% agreement or higher. This process resulted in 155 parent questions and 124 child questions reaching consensus to include. The modified Delphi method developed surveys that provide insight into the behaviors and attitudes of children (individuals) and their parents on farms (family) and will assist in informing how community, organizations and policy frameworks can improve child safety on farms. It will assist in identifying and understanding common farming exposures/behaviors of children and their parents to inform the development of targeted and culturally appropriate injury prevention strategies. As farming groups are heterogeneous, these survey scan be used on varying farming cohorts to identify their unique farming hazards and challenges. Child farm-related injuries are a problem globally and must be addressed; children are dependent on adults and communities to create safe environments for them.

Cultivating Mental Health and Social Connection

From The Cultivate Podcast with Cynthia Mahoney

In this episode, Cynthia chats with rural mental wellbeing and disability advocate, Kelly Barnes. Kelly is the Victorian winner of the 2020 Agrifutures Rural Woman of the Year with her concept of using working dogs to encourage social connection and as a support tool to improve mental wellbeing in farming communities. We talk about her love of dogs and the fabulous outcomes of her working dog school workshops, her experience of living with a chronic pain disability (Fibromyalgia) in rural Australia and how she cultivates herself mentally and physically – great lessons for us all. Kelly also shares where her inspiring journey of leadership has taken her as she now embarks on a career as a mental health researcher and facilitator with the National Centre for Farmer Health.

Cultivate is also the title of Cynthia Mahoney’s first book, it’s about how neuroscience and well-being can support leaders to build happier, healthier teams who are ready to thrive.

Listen to the episode here

Episode 19: “Kids follow parents’ lead on farm safety”

In this episode, Jessie Adams researcher from National Centre for Farmer Health, and Wimmera farmer Amity Dunstan talk about being pro-active in teaching farm kids about safety and how to manage risks. Practical tips about rules, setting a good example and having the ongoing conversations which build a robust farm safety culture.

Now streaming on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and here.

This podcast is part of the Primary Producer Knowledge Network led by the National Centre for Farmer Health to promote mentally healthy workplaces. Campfire, part of the Primary Producer Knowledge Network, was funded by the Victorian State Government’s WorkSafe WorkWell Mental Health Improvement Fund.

Farmer Health eNews January 2023

Find out the latest from the National Centre for Farmer Health

• #BuildingFarmSpirit – Supporting the wellbeing of flood impacted farmers
• Kickstart your dream career in 2023!
• Summer Listening Series
• Wellness Wednesday

View the January 2023 eNews

Read past issues of eNews

Do you want to receive our eNews?

Wishing you a happy festive season!

What a year it has been at the National Centre for Farmer Health! 

Our incredible team has continued to grow with the rollout of new programs, education offerings and research projects. Our team have loved the opportunity to get back to meeting face-to-face—connecting with farmers at field days and agricultural community events; developing new relationships and sharing knowledge through conference presentations and information stands at both the National Rural Health Conference and the World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion this year, and delivering training to service providers and health professionals.

While the continuing presence of COVID-19 has provided us with some challenges, there have nevertheless been silver linings! Our 2022 Symposium ‘Farming a Brighter Future: Challenging boundaries to farmer health, wellbeing and safety’ was delivered as a hybrid event – bringing over 80 people together face-to-face and opening the program up to a larger, more geographically diverse audience online. Who would have thought that would be possible a few short years ago? Our Campfire podcast series is going from strength to strength – with 18 episodes released (and 2 more due for release in the coming weeks)—getting the message out about farmer health, wellbeing and safety in new and exciting ways. Did you miss attending one of our face-to-face health assessments this year? Never fear!! We now have an online health assessment tool ‘Farmer HAT’ that you can complete. Great for supporting those New Year resolutions.

Farming is challenging at the best times, but floods and extreme weather events across 2022 have added a new level of complexity across a wide range of farming communities. The Centre has been busy ramping up support for flood-affected farmers through our #BuildingFarmSpirit campaign – incorporating community members sharing stories through social media, support for community events encouraging social connection and wellbeing, training for trusted advisers supporting our farmers, and free access to farmer health trained psychologists. This work will continue into 2023.

2023 is shaping up to be another big year and we look forward to you all being part of it. But, until then, our team would like to wish you a safe Christmas and New Year. We know it’s an incredibly busy period for some, and for others a chance to take some downtime. Whatever it looks like for you, make sure you find ways to fill your cup and restore your mental, emotional and physical energy.

Take care,
Dr Alison Kennedy.
Director of the National Centre for Farmer Health.

Summer Listening Series

Ahead of the festive season, we have compiled a list of our favourite podcasts. Check out our 12 days of Christmas Summer Listening below.

Celebrating Ability in Agriculture with Josie Clarke, Humans of Agriculture.

Josie Clarke is blazing a trail, just this year she has been in Mexico for her PhD, on the stage as the winner of the NSW/ACT Rural Woman’s Award, a finalist for the National Rural Woman’s Award and most recently named a 2023 EvokeAg Future Young Leader.

Josie founded an organisation called Ability Agriculture, they help give a voice to people with a disability working in agriculture and to shift the perceptions of their capacity within the sector.

Listen to her story below.

Emergency doctor Kate Field moved from the city to the country for cheese, Motherland Australia.

Kate Field and her husband love cheese so much that 10 years ago, they packed up life in Sydney and bought a farm in Tasmania to become cheesemakers. They started their own dairy goat herd and have grown their business to something very special. But there’s a lot more to Kate’s story than wrangling kids- both the goat kind and the human kind! Kate is also an emergency doctor at the Royal Hobart Hospital and her journey through pregnancy, motherhood and life on the land is quite the tale. Kate was also one of three Tasmanian finalists for the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award and it’s been a thrill to get to know her. This is her story.

A paddock chat with Kelly Barnes, The Farm Life Fitness Podcast.

Kelly is a passionate rural mental wellbeing and dynamic disability advocate with a love of animals, especially her loyal working dogs. She grew up on her family farm in the south of England and worked on farms and for shearing teams in the UK, New Zealand and Australia before settling permanently in Dunkeld, Victoria in 2011. Due to ongoing challenges with chronic pain she transitioned to work in agribusiness roles including rural merchandise and completed training in Agricultural Health and Medicine and Healthy and Sustainable Agricultural Communities which fueled her passion for health and wellbeing in farming communities.

Kelly was honoured to be named the 2020 Victorian Agrifutures Rural Women’s Award winner with her concept of using working dogs to encourage social connection and as a support tool to improve mental wellbeing in farming communities. She continues to be amazed at how the humble working dog can open the space for so many important conversations and provide a constant source of support through challenging times. This paddock chat was so much fun to do, hence why it is the longest one so far; there was never a good time to stop the conversation, it just kept flowing!

Mentally Preparing for the Fire Season, Campfire.

This bite-sized episode explores how understanding the impact of disasters – like COVID, bushfires and floods – can help people prepare for the next disaster, both practically and psychologically. 
Drew interviews Alexandra Howard from Phoenix Australia, and Cathy Sosoli, former Wellbeing Team Leader of the Country Fire Authority (CFA), about this important topic and ways to reduce and navigate trauma in the wake of disaster.

Is there anything better than saving a life? Victorian Farmers Federation

Take a dive into the world of a pediatric trauma and burns surgeon who works with children on a daily basis. Dr Warwick Teague catches up with host Tegan Buckley through the VFF Podcast for a fascinating and truly intriguing look into the world of a trauma and burns unit. He opens up about minor to major injuries, returning to and engaging in normal daily life again, the trauma of trauma and helping families in a time of need.

Season 2, Episode 2: Dr. Alison Kennedy – Director of the National Centre for Farmer Health, RawAg podcast.

Alison is a Behavioural Scientist who has lived and worked in Victoria’s rural farming community for almost two decades. Her expertise in rural/farmer mental health and suicide prevention has drawn on a range of innovative techniques including digital interventions, digital storytelling, community education programs and peer support models. Alison has led numerous farmer mental health projects and continues to build the Centre’s capacity and reach by working collaboratively with researchers, farmers and industry stakeholders across Australia and internationally. Her expertise has been recognised through research awards, numerous advisory roles, peer review publication, international research consultation, invited presentations and expert witness testimony before the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System. Alison is passionate about co-designing the Centre’s research, education and services in collaboration with community and industry—to ensure the Centre’s work continues to be effective, relevant and tailored to the needs of rural farming communities.

Shanna Whan’s best sober life, ABC Conversations.

When country woman Shanna Whan hit rock bottom in 2014 after a lifelong battle with alcohol addiction, she began a grassroots movement to tackle how we talk about booze in the bush.

Biosecurity on farms: controlling what you can control, Campfire.

Biosecurity risks can create a lot of stress for farmers – and it’s never been more relevant.
Tune in to the latest Campfire episode for insights from Chris Parker (First Assistant Secretary Biosecurity Animal Division) and Kathryn Roberston (livestock vet) on the impacts of biosecurity concerns on farmers, and what you can do to minimise the stress.Listen now on Spotify or Apple Podcasts by searching ‘National Centre for Farmer Health’, or follow the link:

A Farmer, Wife, Mum and exceptional Rural Woman with Steph Schmidt, Humans of Agriculture.

Steph Schmidt is a Farmer, Mum, Psychologist, Small Business owner and incredibly passionate about the future for Agriculture through its people.Steph is the 2020 winner of the Agrifutures Rural Woman’s Award for South Australia, the award enabled her to build on her idea focused on making paddock tested psychological tools more accessible to farmers and Rural Australia.

Living through drought in 2019, Steph was asked to run a few community sessions to help people get some skills in resilience and looking after themselves. These sessions were the instigator for her applying for the Rural Woman’s Award. Today, her work is bringing proactive measures into the everyday.

Understanding the mental impact of injuries on farm, Campfire.

On-farm injuries, particularly severe ones, create two immediate, often long-lasting problems – what happens to the farm and, more importantly, what happens to the farmer? In this episode, we discuss the often long-lasting mental and physical impacts of an injury on the farm – and what you can do to prevent them.

Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (OHS Act) employers and self-employed persons must notify WorkSafe immediately after becoming aware a notifiable incident has occurred.

If employers/farmers are unsure if they need to report an incident they can call WorkSafe on 13 23 60. 

Know a bloke who’s struggling with his mental health? Ducks on the Pond

It’s so hard to watch someone you love, struggle with their mental health, especially when they aren’t getting the help they need. Rural men in particular seem to be among the most hesitant to open up and look after their own mental health… which can be frustrating for us women! So what’s the best way to start the conversation?

While this podcast is for women… as anyone in a rural community knows, the rates of suicide amongst our men is alarming (75% of suicides in Australia are male). There have also been multiple suicide clusters in rural Australia, including in south-west Victoria in 2016. In this episode, hear from:

• Jane Fitzgibbon – her son Sam, took his own life when he was 21. She co-founded Let’s Talk, in south-west Victoria.
• Mary O’Brien – Founder of “Are you bogged mate?” from Dalby, QLD.
• Dr Alison Kennedy – suicide prevention researcher at the National Centre for Farmer Health.

So, whether you want to help your partner, son, father, brother or friend…in this episode we talk about when a man is most likely to be receptive to an “emotional” conversation and how to go about the conversation.

Healthy Ageing on the Farm, Campfire.

You can do everything right when planning and executing a succession plan. You can get some help from a professional, to work through some of the trickier bits. However, what some farmers realise is, that they forget about themselves – and never really discussed their ongoing role on the farm, once the transition was over.

Physically ageing farmers can often experience hearing loss. This not only poses a risk for accidents and injury, but can also affect farmers’ social connection and mental health. Ageing can also exacerbate arthritis and muscular pain, often caused by the physical tasks of farming over a long period. Your back might not be up to a full day of crutching sheep anymore, but you also might not be ready to retire completely.

The median age of farmers and farm managers in Australia is 56, making it an especially important topic for the industry.

But there are options to safely (both mentally and physically) continue to assist on the farm after retirement or succession.

Episode 18: “Biosecurity on farms – controlling what you can control”

In this episode, Chris Parker vet, farmer and National Animal Disease Control Coordinator talks about some of the challenges and management approaches to dealing with biosecurity risks. Having a biosecurity plan and keeping it up to date are a key part of farmer responsibilities.

Now streaming on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and here.

This podcast is part of the Primary Producer Knowledge Network led by the National Centre for Farmer Health to promote mentally healthy workplaces. Campfire, part of the Primary Producer Knowledge Network, was funded by the Victorian State Government’s WorkSafe WorkWell Mental Health Improvement Fund.

Victorian Farmer Magazine

NCFH board member and Nuffield Scholar Sarah Crosthwaite was featured on the cover of the Spring edition of Victorian Farmer magazine, produced by the Victorian Farmers Federation.