Farmers: you can get financial help, before the situation becomes dire
This topic will be discussed as part of our online bonfire on August 25 at 7:30pm, “Strengthening Your Support Team: Rural Financial Counselling Service.”
Fruit growers have been hit by labour shortages under Covid-19 as well as a rise in several input costs. After a stressful and mentally challenging 2020 citrus harvest, Michael listened to the advice of a friend, who convinced him to talk to a rural financial counsellor. Now, the current harvest season is looking very different and their mental health is back on track.
Agriculture is booming in Australia; cattle prices have skyrocketed, the drought has broken and even the price of wool has picked up. But for citrus growers like Michael, who is based near Mildura, the past two years have been incredibly tough.
While the impact of COVID-19 on agriculture has been relatively minimal for other farming industries, fruit growers have been struck with severe labour shortages as well as a rise in the cost of diesel, fertiliser and packing materials.
Michael would normally have a stream of backpackers to pick oranges at harvest time, and despite the Federal Government’s efforts to bring in Pacific Island workers to help, there’s still not enough pickers to go around.
“Last year, we did our best with the staff we had, but we couldn’t get all the fruit off the trees quick enough, which meant oranges was simply left to rot,” Michael said.
“We ended up making a substantial loss. I’ve been growing fruit for 15 years and while I have broken even a few times before, that’s the first time I’ve ever made a loss. Seeing the piles of wasted fruit, was just heartbreaking. We were anxious for what the next season would bring, and wondering if we would be able to pull through. Managing the farm and dealing with labour shortages, let alone during a pandemic, took a serious toll on our mental health.” he said.
So, at the start of 2021, when it was becoming clear that Covid-19 was not going away, Michael decided he would take action to prevent some of the stress of the previous year.
“My mate, who is also a grower, said he had spoken to a rural financial counsellor, who helped him with forward budgeting,” he said.
“My initial thought was, no, I don’t need that, I’ve been running a successful business for years before COVID, it’s not for me. But I got over my pride and it’s been the best thing I could have done.”
A local counsellor from the Rural Financial Counselling Service Victoria helped Michael and his family to plan ahead, factoring in the increase in input costs, as well as the high likelihood of another harvest labour shortage. They also helped him to apply for government grants.
Ultimately this alleviated much of the stress Michael had been feeling about having a lack of control over his business during the pandemic, as well as the uncertainty over how to make organisational changes in the workplace, to deal with yet another difficult season. Worksafe Victoria has identified these as workplace factors which can contribute to poor mental health – and has more information on ways to improve stress in the workplace here.
Michael says speaking with a rural financial counsellor completely changed his mindset.
“Instead of going into harvest and just hoping for the best, I had a plan. Then I could brief the staff about how we were going to tackle this season with fewer people and how I had structured the daily tasks differently to cope.”
Michael said this also helped reduce the stress his staff were feeling, who were concerned about the impact labour shortages would have on their workload.
“We’re in full harvest swing now. And it’s always a busy time…but I have been able to set achievable targets for the staff and the business as a whole, which has actually helped to increase productivity.”
While Michael says this season certainly won’t be his best year, the business will be able to get through this difficult time, with a small profit.
The Rural Financial Counselling Service is a free, independent and confidential service operating across Victoria (with similar services in other states).
“When you call the RFCS, you’ll get a counsellor who lives and works locally and is a specialist in local conditions,” Wayne Stephen, Senior Business Financial Counsellor at the RFCS said.
Wayne Stephen said the aim is to get the farmer to a better place.
“A better place could be a better asset to liability ratio, a better production system, a better succession plan, a better relationship with banks and creditors, a better relationship with family members, and a better relationship with yourself,” he said.
Michael says he is certainly a lot happier, less stressed and feeling optimistic about the future.
“I can’t control what happens with Covid-19, but I now have control over my business again.”
When it comes to running the family farm, investing in ways of working that support goodmental health is not only good for your family and staff, 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 high job demands, low job control, low role clarity and more. Managing these factors, means decreasing the risk of work-related stress, which can prevent physical injury, mental injury or even both at the same time.
Find out more about being mentally safe on the 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.
Join the online bonfire session, “Strengthening Your Support Team: Rural Financial Counselling Service” on August 25 to hear more from Financial Counsellor Malcolm Rowe about his recommendations and strategies for a mentally healthy workplace, and how the RFCS can work with you to prevent work-related stress.
*Primary producers featuring in this blog are fictional, but based on research interviews with farmers, and developed with the assistance of the National Centre for Farmer Health
Succession Planning … don’t let it be the elephant in the room
This topic will be discussed as part of our online bonfire on August 11 at 7:30pm, “Planning for Success(ion).”
It isn’t easy, bringing up the topic of succession, but it’s much harder to work on farm when there’s uncertainty about the future. Melissa and Aaron, had left jobs in Melbourne to come back to the family dairy – but not knowing whether they would one day own the farm, was starting to affect their mental health.
As a farmer, have you ever worked out your hourly rate?
Melissa has…. and the numbers didn’t look very good. She did it to prove a point, to her husband Aaron, that despite the long hours worked on his family’s farm – it mightn’t be worth it.
The couple moved back to the farm in Colac in south-west Victoria from Melbourne four years ago. They like the work and love the lifestyle – but there had never been any certainty over who would own the dairy in the future.
Melissa, 29, said this was making her feel very anxious, especially since having her first child a year ago. She just wanted some certainty about her family’s future. The lack of communication and avoidance in talking about the decisions and changes to the business that had to be made was causing stress and impacting both Melissa and Aaron’s mental health.
“Aaron and I both left good, well-paying jobs in the city. And we came back to the farm, thinking that there would be a succession plan,” she said.
“Because, if at the end of the day, the dairy was just going to be sold off and split between Aaron and his two siblings – then we would have been much better off staying in Melbourne.”
Melissa was beginning to feel resentful about making such a big move, but as the daughter-in-law, felt uncomfortable about raising the issue with Aaron’s mother.
Aaron’s father had died unexpectedly two years ago, but again, the issue of ownership was never raised.
“Aaron felt like he couldn’t bring it up with his mother, when she was grieving, which I absolutely understand,” Melissa said.
“But Aaron had really stepped up into the leadership role since his Dad died – managing the team of four and lifting our number of cows from 400 to 600,” she said.
But Melissa said this had never really been acknowledged – they were still earning the same wage they had, when they first came back to the farm. She wanted Aaron’s efforts to be recognised; not just financially, but also by family.
Mike Krause, a succession planner with P2P Agri, says the issue of succession can often be the elephant in the room – no one wants to talk about it, but it affects everything.
He says succession planning is really part of risk management.
“If it’s not handled well the risk could be – we don’t have a business next year,” Mike told the Mallee Sustainable Farming Podcast.
“It is tough but the emotional benefits of having that plan succeed at the end of the tunnel is worth the effort of getting in the tunnel and going through the process.”
Melissa convinced Aaron to start the conversation with his mother and they brought in a facilitator to help them work out the succession.
Melissa said it was the best thing they could have done. It gave everyone the opportunity to participate in the change process as well as practical support throughout.
“Aaron’s Mum didn’t really know how we felt. Aaron’s Dad had looked after the farm and the business and so she felt like she didn’t have all the answers. Bringing in an expert helped to clarify the process for everyone involved, and helped to preserve family relationships”
Succession planner, Isobel Knight says you don’t need to have all the answers to be able to start the process.
“The starting point is where you are today,” she said in the Mentor of the Month podcast by the Future Farmers Network.
“Sometimes people are scared that someone is going to tell them what to do,” she said.
“When really what we’re doing is enabling communication effectively so that families don’t blow themselves up in the first instance, so they can have those difficult conversations.”
For Melissa and Aaron, they now have a management plan as well as a gradual ownership plan, which incorporates financially supporting their mother as well as a Will that leaves an equitable share of the family’s other assets to Aaron’s two siblings (who aren’t interested in working on the farm).
Melissa is feeling much happier and less stressed and anxious about their future, now that she knows what they are working for.
“I’m relieved we have a plan and that everyone in the family is supportive. Having clarity about our respective roles in the day-to-day operations as well as the ‘big picture’ of the family business has given as a fresh perspective. It’s also had such a positive flow-on effect. We’re now a lot more comfortable in having some of these challenging conversations. It’s become part of our routine to meet regularly as a team. We’ve set some new strategies in place for continuing farm business planning and we’ve also set up structures to support our whole team—including our relief milkers. As a family, I feel like we can start making longer-term decisions and planning for our future now, which I’m pleased to say is here, on the farm.”
Worksafe has information on how poor organisational change management and low role clarity can lead to mental health problems and workplace stress. It advises that communication and seeking all parties’ participation in the change process can help ease feelings around a lack of control. When it comes to running the family farm, investing in mental health initiatives is not only good for your family and staff, 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 high job demands, low job control, low role clarity and more. Managing these factors, means decreasing the risk of work-related stress, which can prevent physical injury, mental injury or even both at the same time.
Find out more about being mentally safe on the 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.
Join the online bonfire session, “Planning for Success(ion)” on August 11 to hear more from Mike Krause about his recommendations and strategies for a mentally healthy succession process, and how it can prevent work-related stress.
*Primary producers featuring in this blog are fictional, but based on research interviews with farmers, and developed with the assistance of the National Centre for Farmer Health
Farmer Health eNews August 2021
Find out the latest from the National Centre for Farmer Health
- Steering Straight: My plan to keep on track. Download your plan to help you stay on track during challenging or stressful times.
- Do you spray chemicals from your quadbike? Weigh in on the associated safety issues in our QuadSIS survey.
- How will the findings of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System impact farming communities?
- Wellness Wednesday
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Self-management of diabetes and associated comorbidities in rural and remote communities: a scoping review
Abstract
Chronic health conditions are more prevalent in rural and remote areas than in metropolitan areas; living in rural and remote areas may present particular barriers to the self-management of chronic conditions like diabetes and comorbidities. The aims of this review were to: (1) synthesise evidence examining the self-management of diabetes and comorbidities among adults living in rural and remote communities; and (2) describe barriers and enablers underpinning self-management reported in studies that met our inclusion criteria. A systematic search of English language papers was undertaken in PsycINFO, Medline Complete, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) Complete, EMBASE and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, searching for literature indexed from the beginning of the database until 6 March 2020. Essential key concepts were diabetes, comorbidities, self-management and rural or remote. Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria. Six of these reported interventions to promote self-management for adults with diabetes in rural and remote communities and described comorbidities. These interventions had mixed results; only three demonstrated improvements in clinical outcomes or health behaviours. All three of these interventions specifically targeted adults living with diabetes and comorbidities in rural and remote areas; two used the same telehealth approach. Barriers to self-management included costs, transport problems and limited health service access. Interventions should take account of the specific challenges of managing both diabetes and comorbidities; telehealth may address some of the barriers associated with living in rural and remote areas.
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Episode 4: “Communication – it’s more than words”
In this episode, John Broons, a family business advisor and coach, and Hugh McDonald, a sheep farmer from SW VIC discuss exactly what we mean by ‘communication’ in farming, some common challenges to healthy communication in production enterprises, and how properly engaging with your family and workers can help to build a happy, healthy workplace.
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.
Communication – it’s more than words… and worth more than you think
This topic will be discussed as part of our online bonfire on July 28 at 7:30pm, “Communication – It’s More Than Words.”
It may be crass to talk about money, but Mitchell* has always planned to be a millionaire farmer by the time he’s 40. And at 29, he’s well on track.
But just last year, he was close to leaving his family’s farm near Wangaratta in north-east Victoria altogether, as his working relationship with his parents had deteriorated and it was starting to affect Mitchell’s mental health and wellbeing.
Growing up, he had a fantastic relationship with his parents. He loved every aspect of looking after their sheep and growing the crops. He enjoyed the physical work as much as the business side of farming.
However, a few years ago relations with his Mum and Dad became strained after Mitchell pushed them to buy an extra 300 hectares of land from the neighbour.
“Mum and Dad agreed and initially seemed happy about growing the business”, Mitchell said.
“But then they almost seemed resentful and started watching the money like a hawk. And when I would try to talk to them about buying more land, they’d basically shut down, change the subject, or leave the room.” Mitchell didn’t know it at the time, but the financial pressure and increasing levels of debt was making his mum particularly stressed and anxious.
For Mitchell, this was devastating. He knew he was a good farmer, who had studied and understood business. He presented his parents with budgets, plans and even approvals from the bank. But it eventually reached a point where he thought it would be better investing his time slowly building a farm of his own, rather than working with his parents.
What saved the family – and the farm, was sitting down with a family business professional, who helped them create a clear line between the workplace and family relationships. It also enabled the family to understand that stress from workplace conflict was also affecting the functioning and productivity of the family business.
“When you start thinking about each other in a work context, then you quickly realise, that it’s a problem of communication,” Mitchell said.
Poor workplace relationships and poor support in the workplace are two work-related risks to mental health that were impacting Mitchell’s family and their business, and these can both be addressed by improving communication in the workplace.
Worksafe Victoria has information on how poor communication can cause stress and lead to mental health problems, adding to feelings of injustice (such as in Mitchell’s case). It advises managers or members of a family business to ensure there is regular communication, opportunities to raise and address and issues (such as team meetings) and to start a conversation, at the earliest sign of stress, in an open and respectful way.
John Broons is a Family Business specialist and says many farming families avoid talking about the big issues.
“If we just talk about the business and we don’t talk about the family stuff, then we are just putting our heads in the sand and we are not going to be prepared when change occurs within the family that affects the business,” John told Farm Weekly.
“The dynamics of families in business is not just about accounting. The business can be quantified – when there is a discussion about the business we go straight to the numbers – but I can’t tell you the profit or loss of your children, it’s a very different equation,” he said.
Factors which influence our ability to communicate, include:
- Family history
- Communication style
- Self-esteem of individuals
- The different styles of communication between the generations
Mitchell says he now understands that while he was talking to his parents, he wasn’t effectively communicating and that was causing conflict and poor workplace relationships
“I’ve come to realise that I can be a bit like a bull at a gate when I want to pursue an idea,” he said.
“I also understand where my parents are coming from – I didn’t know before that Mum’s mother was left to retire on nothing because of some bad farm business decisions.”
Mitchell said his parents are also working on their own financial barriers and learning to trust him more.
“And I’m pleased to say I’ve convinced the folks to buy another block of land, ” Mitchell said.
“I know a million bucks is not really worth much if you don’t have your family by your side. So that’s my focus. ”
When it comes to running the family farm, investing in mental health initiatives is not only good for your family and staff, 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 high job demands, low job control, poor job support and more. Managing these factors, means decreasing the risk of work-related stress, which can prevent physical injury, mental injury or even both at the same time. Find out more about being mentally safe on the 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.
Join the online bonfire session, “Communication: It’s more than words” on July 28 to hear more from John Broons and Hugh McDonald about their strategies for good communication in a primary production workplace, and how it can prevent work-related stress.
*Primary producers featuring in this blog are fictional, but based on research interviews with farmers, and developed with the assistance of the National Centre for Farmer Health
Survey seeks info on Quadbike use on farms | Stock & Land
INFO: A survey of farmers and their use of quad bikes to apply sprays has been developed by student researcher Jordan Walker.
Written by Alastair Dowie for Stock & Land, published on 22nd July 2021
National Centre for Farmer Health (NCFH) student researcher Jordan Walker wants to understand the use of quadbikes for spraying on the farm.
The rise in quadbike related fatalities in Australia last year, combined with minimal quadbike spraying research in Australia, makes this new research particularly vital.
For many Victorian farmers, the quadbike is vital to everyday farm operations, with their use in tasks such as mustering, transport, hunting and spraying.
However, while quadbikes can be incredibly helpful on the farm, they can also be a dangerous vehicle that has the potential to cause injury.
Jordan Walker said the survey was part of his thesis for his honors year of his Bachelor of Health and Medical Science.
He said the farming side of health had always been an interest.
He also had a brother who was involved in an accident on a quad bike.
He said at this stage there were about 30 responses with the survey period to late August.
One of the aims was to see how widespread the use of quad bikes to spray.
“Once I dive a bit more into the responses I will be able to get more results,” he said.
NCFH is seeking farmers and agricultural workers around Victoria to participate in an online survey.
The survey will only take 5 to 10 minutes, with questions about your farm, quadbike use and agrichemical use.
The Quadbike spraying and injury surveillance project (QuadSIS) aims to help researchers understand:
- extent to which quadbikes are used for spraying on the farm
- the types of agrichemicals applied using quadbikes
- whether spraying on a quadbike creates increased risks that may lead to injury
Participation in the QuadSIS project will help inform more targeted education into how farmers can use their quadbike to safely apply agrichemicals without putting their health and safety at risk.
For more information contact Jordan Walker, Student Researcher, on walkerjor@deakin.edu.au
Follow this link to view original article
Episode 3: New to Farming: Learning from Experience
In this episode, Melissa Connors, who runs This Farm Needs a Farmer, and Julie Crowle discuss their experiences of starting out in farming, how they found success despite various challenges, how they sourced great advice and built their skills, and how they are building mentally healthy farming enterprises by managing their workload and putting preventative strategies in place.
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.
The realities of starting a farm from scratch
This topic will be discussed as part of our online bonfire on July 14 at 7:30pm, “New to Farming – Learning from Experience.”
Growing up, Louise* had always wanted to become a farmer, just like her grandfather. That was until the creeping realisation that owning a farm is hard, if you don’t have any land to start off with.
Louise wasn’t in the line of succession. So, for a long time she parked her dreams and went on to become a solicitor. But, in her late 20s, the farm dream came back and she couldn’t shake it.
“It was probably when my husband and I started thinking about having kids. We were living in Geelong, but whenever I pictured children, it was always on a farm,’ she said.
“My husband, Richard, is also a lawyer and is originally from Melbourne, so there really wasn’t much farming skills between us.”
Despite this, the couple started working and volunteering on farms in their spare time and later bought 90 acres, one hour west of Geelong.
“So many people said to us, it can’t be done. They’d say, ‘what’s the point of running 25 cows on 90 acres? You won’t make enough profit’,” she said.
Six years later, the couple now runs hundreds of sheep and cattle on more than 600 acres.
Louise admits it wasn’t easy. Financially, she and her husband both had to continue working their regular jobs, while running up to the farm on weekends and hiring help.
During that time, Louise and Richard also started a family.
“It was an incredible juggle. And if I’m honest, there were days I felt driven and then days I felt so stressed out” Louise said.
“Chasing my dream was putting a lot of pressure on my family and at one point I nearly sold our land and gave up altogether.”
The workload of starting out and running a farm can be high, but there are ways of planning and managing the work that can reduce work-related stress. Louise’s turning point came, when she applied for and was awarded a Young Farmers Scholarship, which gave her a framework for running the business, improved her grazing management and connected her to the broader farming community.
“There are just so many things you don’t know, when you start farming from scratch. I would definitely encourage anyone considering entering farming to explore the opportunities that are out there for training. You don’t have to do a degree—there are lots of short courses and hands-on learning opportunities.”
“But on the mental health side, the scholarship program also put the business into perspective. I learnt how to better manage and operate the farm. This in turn gave me more of a sense of control in how to design and manage the farm work and farming as a way of life, which reduced my work-related stress.” Louise said.
“We had been so fixated on the bottom line and proving everyone wrong, we almost forgot about why we got into farming in the first place. It enabled me to prioritise time for family and for myself.”
The tree-change movement has taken off in the past decade and even more so recently, under Covid-19.
Melissa Connors created This Farm Needs A Farmer, to connect aspiring farmers with farmer mentors. She says the early years can be incredibly stressful and that she often receives phone calls from distressed newcomers, saying “What have I done?”
“These words immediately transport me back to when we first moved onto our rural property, 8 years ago when we knew nothing, knew no one and the only tools we owned were a set of screw drivers and a hammer,” Melissa said. Melissa says people move from the city with an idyllic picture of rural life, not realising all the infrastructure they’ll need to put in (such as sewage, drains, bores etc.)
This is not to discourage people from chasing their farming dreams, but to be more realistic about how long it can take to create a liveable home and a profitable farm. Connecting with mentors and training opportunities can help to manage expectations regarding workload and other aspects of farming and fishing life – proper preparation and early decision making can reduce future stress, be it financial or personal, and maintain a healthy primary production workplace for both those in charge and those employed.
Sam Marwood of Cultivate Farms, told the Beyond the Farmgate podcast that aspiring farmers are increasingly using vendor finance.
“No one is born being a doctor, or a lawyer or an accountant, they figure it out and they go train and they get there,” Sam said.
And that’s what we want to say to the next generation, is if you’ve got this desire to produce things, farming is an option and ownership is absolutely an option,” he said. “It’s just going to be hard work and you will have to be a bit creative to get there.”
For Louise, she now realises that the hard work she put in early on, should never have come at the cost of her mental health. Louise has come to see just how important it is to prevent risks to mental health from the start. She’s also learnt how valuable good staff can be in supporting her goal of running a successful business, and she makes a big effort to ensure that workers are treated well, feel valued and have a say in how the farm is run – all factors that can help to retain staff and create a mentally healthy workplace for workers too. After all, they often have a lot more knowledge and experience than Louise.
Workplaces impact mental health but there are ways to design and manage work to reduce the risk of work-related stress and create mentally healthy workplaces. Looking at Worksafe Victoria’s guide on managing work-related stress, Louise had set unreasonably high work demands for herself and before having a business plan, she had low levels of control over her work.
These days, Louise is still working towards her dream of building up her own farm, but values her mental health and well-being just as highly.
“Just as we want a sustainable farm, we need a sustainable way of working,” she said.
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.
Join the online bonfire session, “New to Farming: Learning from Experience” on July 14 to hear more from Melissa Connors, Julie Crowle and Josie Zilm about strategies for managing and designing their workload to reduce work-related stress in their primary production workplaces.
*Primary producers featuring in this blog are fictional, but based on research interviews with farmers, and developed with the assistance of the National Centre for Farmer Health
What farmers want from mental health and wellbeing-focused websites and online interventions
Abstract
Introduction
Farming is a physically and psychologically hazardous occupation and farmers face numerous attitudinal and structural barriers to accessing mainstream health and mental health services. As Internet access increases across rural Australia there is potential for online interventions to help overcome barriers and provide new avenues for improving farmers’ mental health and wellbeing. However, little is known about how farmers perceive this approach which is problematic given the importance of building in their preferences, to ensure these interventions meet their interests and needs, and have maximum impact. The purpose of this study was to explore the scope of Australian farmers’ current Internet use and their views and preferences on the design and delivery of online, mental health and wellbeing-focused interventions.
Methods
Eighteen farmers (11 men and 7 women, with a median age of 45.5 years) from grain, sheep and/or cattle farms across four states of Australia participated. Telephone-based, semi-structured interviews were used to explore their current Internet use practices and preferences regarding new websites to promote farmers’ mental health and wellbeing. Thematic Framework Analysis was used to analyze and organize the data.
Results
Eight key topics were discussed and several themes within each topic emerged. The first topic related to farmers’ current Internet use practices (found to be sporadic, used for weather, banking, emails and research, they are open to using it for health and wellbeing, and they reported that Twitter and other social media reduces social isolation). Themes demonstrating farmers’ specific preferences on four aspects of web-design included; preferred aesthetics (authenticity, reflective of farmer diversity, simple layout and font, colours of nature, mix of cartoons and real-life, positive, masculine imagery); preferred language (lay, casual tone, careful use of humour, positive/empowering); preferred technical aspects/capabilities (unreliable Internet connections, limited downloads, compatibility with multiple devices, easy to use, inclusion of music problematic, mixed opinion about inclusion of scientific references and chat features, include videos, case studies) and preferred content/focus for websites of this type (early intervention/prevention, where and how to seek more help). More broadly, contextual influences to consider (multiple pressures of farm life, time poverty, farmers’ outlook is practical and outcome-driven, stigma about mental health decreasing but still exists); strategies to promote engagement (must feel engaged, know what is next, see benefits quickly) and marketing/promotion suggestions (women as advocates for men, use trusted sources to promote, emphasize that information can be accessed from privacy of own home/farm) were also highlighted by participants.
Conclusions
Findings will help inform the development of new mental health and wellbeing-focused online interventions for farmers to maximize uptake, engagement and impact. In particular, these interventions need to be perceived as relevant and authentic, while also reflecting the diversity of the farming population, which farmers believe can be achieved by carefully considering their preferences for aesthetics, language, technological requirements and the unique farming context.
Farmer Health eNews July 2021
Find out the latest from the National Centre for Farmer Health
- Do you use quadbikes for spraying on your farm? Complete our survey assessing the safety of spraying practices on QuadBikes on farms.
- New publication on child farm-related injuries now available!
- Campfire is now live! Join the conversation every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening.
- Wellness Wednesday