Episode 17: “Changing safety culture: a team effort”
Safety first – what’s the rush?
Listen now to learn how the Aurora Dairies team implemented major change in order to improve the mental health and physical safety of their many employees.
Aurora Dairies is one of Australia’s largest milk producers, operating over more than 16,000 hectares across 33 pasture based dairy farms. Led by CEO Ben James, they know that making changes to the safety practices in your farming workplaces can be a major challenge.
After three all-terrain vehicle incidents in 2018, Aurora Dairies made massive changes to their use of ATVs.
By incorporating low-cost technology and working alongside their farm managers and farm teams, they geo-fenced their properties – and later, removed quad bikes all together.
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.
Shifting our thinking on safety
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.
I have always loved farming since I was a little kid, but grew up in a country town. My friends all lived on farms, but I was a townie.
When I finished school I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do – so I applied to work on a large farm not far out of town. I liked the animal and machinery side of it all, but wasn’t so sure about the early mornings, muddy winter days outdoors and how to stay safe while getting the work done on time. There was so much happening around me all the time. If you haven’t guessed yet – my job was on a dairy farm. There were 2000 cows and about 30 people worked there – quite a few were new at the game like me. It was a big set-up and quite unlike any of my friend’s family run dairy farms.
There was a lot of training to start with. Induction courses for this, that and the other piece of machinery. Safety was a priority, which was reassuring, but there was a lot to get your head around. You had to do everything in the right order and fill out lots of checklists. No shortcuts allowed. I just wanted to get out there in the paddocks on the quadbike and round up the cows and bring them in for milking. My friends and I rode quads and motorbikes on their properties all the time, so this, I felt, I could do well.
The first thing I noticed were all the rules about quadbike safety. Helmets, operator protection devices, special tyres, speed limiters, GPS tracking, “no go” zones, pre-start checks etc. The farm manager said they’d had incidents with quadbikes and they were keen to avoid any more accidents on the farm. So even when they did send me out, there was another guy with me to make sure I didn’t muck up, get lost or stress the cows out too much. It wasn’t as much fun as I thought – no hooning around after all.
And always being reminded why the rules were necessary, and cautioned if I cut corners. It was all monitored apparently. Maybe I wasn’t going to have as much fun as I’d hoped in this job, but I liked the team and I liked the animals. And I have to admit, their strategies for on-boarding new staff and managing their workload were strong; I never felt like I was out of my depth, or inundated with lots of jobs too early. Having someone else out there with me did help me learn my job better.
I was out getting the cows in for milking one afternoon and there was a call for help on the radio to go and help another guy who had got into trouble out the back of the property near where I was. He was a pretty experienced farm hand, so I was surprised. I found him lying on the ground with a busted shoulder and the quad bike on its side nearby, engine still running. He was in a fair bit of pain. I couldn’t work it out at first. He never went fast and it wasn’t a steep paddock or a no-go zone. Seems like he had just dropped a wheel in a hole hidden by the grass, and the thing had flipped over.
I won’t bore you with the details, but Mick ended up having quite a few months off work to recover before coming back to work. The farm manager kept in touch and helped him through what was a pretty rough time. We all tried to stay in touch a bit and it was great when he did come back to work.
Mick’s accident, and what turns out was another one or two before it, led to lots of meetings to re-assess the use of the quad bikes on this farm. There was lots of consultation and surveys with all the staff but in the end the decision was made to get rid of all the quad bikes – because even if you do everything right, you can still have them roll over. We might not have all agreed, but the managers did a great job of making the change – and they took all of our feedback on board.
They brought in side by sides which have all sorts of extra safety features. You have to wear a seatbelt properly to even get it to move. Reckon it’ll keep me warmer and drier in those winter mornings though. While I didn’t like the changes that much, I did understand the reason for it – our safety as workers.
Listen to Campfire podcast episode 17 to hear how one company approached the same safety issues and successfully implemented major change to make their workplace safer.
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.
This blog 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, is funded by the Victorian State Governments WorkSafe WorkWell Mental Health Improvement Fund.
From sheep and pastures to service providers
By Kelly Barnes.
My introduction to research began when I commenced my BSc (hons) in Animal Health at Harper Adams University in the UK back in 2001. I found my passion within livestock production and in my final year completed my honours thesis looking at feeding Omega 3 fatty acids to pregnant ewes to increase lamb survival. This involved countless hours spent in the midst of winter observing lambing ewes, timing births and how long it took for the lambs to stand and suckle. Collecting data was at the forefront of my thesis, from weighing differing feed allocations, measuring milk production and composition in ewes and the immune response of ewes and lambs measured through blood samples taken. More recently I was fortunate to lend a hand in a pasture trail here in Western Victoria, which involved pasture cuts, weighing, sorting and drying samples. I was fascinated and intrigued, despite plants not being my first love.
My focus has shifted away from producing healthy sheep and pastures to promoting healthy farmers. Nevertheless, my inquisitive side is still strong and I am excited to have the opportunity to explore a topic that I have been considering for some time. With lived experience of working on farms and in rural service provider roles together with my highly empathic nature, I couldn’t help but see the impact that working day after day with farmers through challenging times has on those in agricultural service providing roles. The genuine connection that service providers form with their clients is above and beyond their role, yet is such a natural progression in a small rural community.
So the question I have been asking is – what are we doing to support these people?
Fast forward through many thoughts and ideas, I was encouraged to bring this question to the table at our monthly research brainstorming meetings and my little seed began to grow! I applied and was accepted to join the emerging researcher program with Western Alliance and have just completed day 1 of the program better known as the STaRR program. The program is aimed at early-stage researchers teaching research skills, and providing feedback and input on ideas with the end goal of guiding them to develop a research protocol and a completed literature review.
The cobwebs are being dusted off, the cogs are starting up again, and I am slowly being reminded of all those hazy lectures from the early 2000’s! With previous work in animal research, not human research, and mostly data collection as opposed to project design, these new skills place me in a place of growth, with the opportunity to learn and combine my previous knowledge and experience with new ways of measuring and evaluating.
With journal articles and highlighters at the ready, I joined the full-day Zoom session for the first day of the program. We heard from knowledgeable researchers and other early researchers like myself. As the day went on our vague big-picture research concepts were tweaked and trimmed to become tangible research questions. The program is designed to fit in around busy clinical schedules and already full plates allowing 5 weeks to chip away at literature searching and catching up with assigned mentors before we regroup at the end of November for more research skills and training.
Stay tuned to find out what develops from this emerging researcher in part 2!!
Farmer Health eNews November 2022
Find out the latest from the National Centre for Farmer Health
- Seeking new NCFH Advisory Group members
- Applications for Agricultural Health and Medicine (HMF701) 2023 now open!
- From sheep and pastures to service providers… by Kelly Barnes
- Wellness Wednesday
Do you want to receive our eNews?
CLOSED – Seeking new NCFH Advisory Group members
This application process is now closed. If you are interested in being considered for an Advisory Group Member role in the future, please email ncfh@wdhs.net.
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Are you passionate about improving farmer health, wellbeing and safety? Do you have a demonstrated track record of commitment to health and/or agriculture, rural health, wellbeing, farming or farm safety matters?
We are seeking new NCFH Advisory Group members from across Australia to contribute their expertise and help us achieve our vision to make a difference to farmers’ lives. For more information please review the Terms of Reference and Position Description below.
If you have any questions please email us at ncfh@wdhs.net.
NCFH’s agile COVID-19 response saves lives and millions
RECENT evaluation findings show that the National Centre for Farmer Health (NCFH) responded to change through the COVID-19 pandemic with significant agility—working productively and collaboratively with partners to deliver services that were highly regarded by the farming community.
This demonstrated ability to adapt to changing circumstances and demands has kept farmers involved with vital health services throughout the global pandemic, and helps shape future plans to build on increased engagement and service delivery offerings, NCFH Director, Dr. Alison Kennedy said.
“I am incredibly proud to lead a dedicated team of farmer health specialists who bring a range of skills and an incredibly important understanding of farming life and work to their roles at the Centre. Their passion and dedication meant that we have been able to adapt, improve and continue to deliver meaningful and tailored support to our farming communities—in spite of Covid challenges.”
Victorian Labor Government’s Delivering for Regional and Rural Victoria Program injected $4 million over four years to NCFH, delivering on its 2018 election commitment and contributing to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Advancement Output.
This funding, which continues until mid-2023, helped put farmers’ health on the agenda.
The recent evaluation also found that for every Government dollar invested, NCFH demonstrated an average return of $17.26 for their Health and Lifestyle Assessments (free 20-minute health check), $13.78 for AgriSafe ClinicsTM (free comprehensive 90-minute health check program), and $67.10 for Farmer HAT (a free online health self-assessment tool).
Cost savings to society as a result of screening, prevention, and early intervention programs like the HLAs and AgriSafe program alone is projected to be $10.9 million over 10 years, and $216,361 over 10 years in Government cost savings.
“Throughout this latest funding period, NCFH raised an additional $1.13 for every core funding dollar invested by the Government and despite increased challenges faced by the farming and healthcare workforce during COVID-19, the NCFH has achieved substantial growth,” Dr. Kennedy said.
“The Centre, based in Hamilton, directly supports 19 staff members and works collaboratively to support the work of numerous contract staff and health service partners across Victoria and nationally. This extends our reach to a wide network of farmers through our Health and Lifestyle Assessments and AgriSafeTM Clinics, our education and training programs such as our secondary student farm safety program Gear up for AgTM, and programs such as Campfire which focus on reducing mental health risks for farmers.”
Adapting its service delivery during COVID-19, NCFH shifted many of its education and research programs from face-to-face to interactive online options, including live social media webinars, podcasts, small group discussion rooms, and facilitated co-design workshops.
This was demonstrated particularly in the development of online Farmer HAT (health assessment tool), Steering Straight (a downloadable resource helping farmers plan to stay on track amid challenging or stressful times), and access to telehealth services from accredited psychologists with specific farmer health training.
NCFH also led a dedicated social media campaign (#SnapshotRuralVic) in 2021 to boost mental health through shared stories and images, encouraging virtual social connection, and are set to launch a new social media campaign soon to support farmers affected by the recent floods.
NCFH plans to continue utilising skills and technologies adopted during COVID-19 to enhance farmer engagement and reach in post-pandemic Australia.
“Our Centre is continuing to develop and grow opportunities for farmer health, wellbeing and safety, through strong and critical partnerships with government, industry, health services, and—most importantly—the farming community. While our farming communities face many current challenges, we are well-placed to tackle these together to make a difference to farmers’ lives and hope to receive a commitment from the Victorian Government to ensure our ongoing funding in the very near future.” Dr. Alison Kennedy explains.
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Available for quotes:
Dr. Alison Kennedy, Director of the National Centre for Farmer Health
alison.kennedy@wdhs.net
(03) 5551 8533
Media Contact
Annabelle Macgugan
amacgugan@wdhs.net
0458517699
For more information about the National Centre for Farmer Health visit https://farmerhealth.org.au.
From co-design to co-production: Approaches, enablers, and constraints in developing a public health, capacity-building solution
Abstract
Introduction
Investigating how co-designed knowledge can be translated to co-produce a public health capacity-building solution for difficult-to-engage population groups drawing on the co-production experience of a prevention-focused, capacity-building mental health solution targeting primary producers.
Design
A qualitative study was undertaken in rural and regional Victoria involving members of the design working group including the project team (7px), the digital design team (5px), the marketing team (3px), and funding partner representatives. The study design involved reflective practice to collect data to identify the phases of co-production and assess the design working group members’ experiences. The analysis involved inductive coding using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis.
Objective
Identifying major points of divergence and/or convergence; enablers and/or constraints, and ways to better navigate and strengthen the co-production process.
Finding
Given members of the design working group, diverse skills sets divergence was experienced in all co-production phases. Divergence was also experienced between the project team and the funding partner given the uniqueness of working conditions and requirements of workers in the primary production industry. The project team applied an iterative development process to project management; encouraging iterative cycles to create/test/revise among the teams, and with the funding partner, until each was satisfied with the end result (convergence).
Discussion & Conclusion
When developing a co-created public health prevention campaign it is critical that the project team focuses on relationship building among the members of the design working group and ensures adequate resourcing, development of shared understanding of project goals and target audience, ongoing communication, and a commitment to working iteratively.
The Primary Producer: CHECKING IN WITH FARMERS
Episode 16: “Working dogs and farmer wellbeing”
Building connections with other farmers and the community is as much of a preventative tool as it is a supportive one. Catch up with Kelly Barnes in this Campfire podcast episode as she discusses the key learnings from the ‘Mates dog school’, and how your working dog can support your mental and physical wellbeing.
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 October 2022
Find out the latest from the National Centre for Farmer Health
- Expand your knowledge with a scholarship to complete the Agricultural Health and Medicine (HMF701)!
- The Farming a Brighter Future symposium was a success!
- Help inform research about chemical usage on Victorian farms
- Wellness Wednesday
Do you want to receive our eNews?
Participant perspectives of an online co-design process to develop a mental health and wellbeing platform for primary producers
Abstract
Objective: To explore participant experiences of an online co-design process to develop a web-based preventative mental health and well-being intervention targeting primary producers in rural Australia
Setting: Rural Victoria, Australia
Participants: Participants from a primary producer background, including horticulture, fisheries, animal cultivation and farm consultancy, were eligible for the study if they had participated in both the co-design and beta testing processes for a primary producer platform.
Design: A qualitative study using semi-structured phone-based interviews was undertaken. A reflexive inductive approach to data analysis was employed to develop themes.
Results: Eleven participants were interviewed, with an average age of 51 years, of which 7 were female. Five main themes were developed. These included: (1) participant diversity, (2) impact of online delivery on co-design participation, (3) experiences of the co-design process, (4) maintaining a shared vision and goals and (5) acting on the co-design recommendations. Use of online methods was a clear enabler to engage participants who were geographically dispersed and offers an alternative to more conventional approaches to co-design using face-to-face methods. Some aspects of participant engagement may need a greater focus when conducted online compared with face-to-face.
Conclusion: Using an online co-design method to develop a preventative mental health and well-being web-based platform for primary producers was novel. Findings address a gap in the literature around the experience of participants engaging in a co-design process and identify opportunities to improve participant engagement and experience with the online format.
Episode 15: “Proactive responses to climate uncertainty”
For some farmers, climate change predictions are leading to more than just concern – it is actually creating a new wave of stress and uncertainty, some of which may become mental health challenges. Farmers are changing their mindset on climate issues, but preconceptions, misconceptions and political opportunism sometimes leave the Aussie farmer as “the meat in the sandwich” when it comes to the climate debate.
Focusing on the solutions rather than the problem can help you to keep a positive mindset as you work towards a better climate future for yourself, your industry and the planet. Farmers for Climate Action can help make positive contributions to discussions on this topic – and in this episode Charlie Prell shares his experiences with climate action and how controlling the things you can control is key to alleviating anxiety.
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.