2016-06-27: Stories of hope to tackle suicide – Bairnsdale Advertiser

A group of 11 farmers from across Australia gathered in Melbourne recently to record their stories of suicide.

“I’ve been living with this agony trapped inside me for a lot of years. Some days it felt like a life sentence for me, too. It feels good to finally get it out,” Bill, a farmer from rural South Australia who participated in the three-day story telling workshop after battling for two decades with thoughts of taking his own life, said.

“Working alongside other farmers who understood what life in the bush is like certainly helped, too. I know I’m not the only one who has been through tough times like this. The way I think is, if telling my story can help someone else out there, it will be worth it.”

These stories of loss, hope and recovery have become a valuable part of the Ripple Effect website (www.therippleeffect.com.au) being launched this Thursday, June 30, by the National Centre for Farmer Health.

The Ripple Effect, of which local farmer and psychologist, Maria Parente, is a member of the national steering committee, website provides the opportunity for members of farming communities affected by suicide to anonymously share experiences in a peer-supported environment.

“People can learn more about why suicide happens, how they can support people in their community going through a tough
time and find links to support where this is needed,” National Centre for Farmer Health Research Fellow, Alison Kennedy, said.

“Importantly, they can watch the farmers’ stories that are provided. There is also information about suicide, stigma, how you can help support the wellbeing of yourself and others, and set personal goals to achieve this.”

The Ripple Effect has a focus on men aged 30-64 years who have been bereaved by suicide, attempted suicide, cared for someone who attempted suicide, have had thoughts of suicide, or been touched by suicide in some other way, though everyone belonging to a regional or rural community affected by suicide is welcome to participate.

Jen is from a farming community in South Australia. Her story tells of her experience following the unexpected suicide death of her husband.

“Telling my story made me realise I need to get past the guilt and start living again. I’ve got to concentrate on looking after the
family and friends I’ve got left,” she said.

“If my story makes one other person tell the people they love how desperate they are feeling, then it’s been worth it.”

Through telling about personal experiences and learning more about suicide, Dr Kennedy says the website aims to reduce the
negative attitudes people affected by suicide have towards themselves and others.

“Too often people feel isolated, shamed or guilt after an experience of suicide and can’t bring themselves to ask for support,
even when they want to,” she said.

“They think other people will think less of them if they do seek support. We want to turn this around by people more effectively
supporting each other and reduce the numbers of rural suicides.”

Dr Kennedy is looking for a least 500 farmers and farming community members from across Australia to participate in the
Ripple Effect.

“If we are going to turn back the tide of suicide in rural farming communities, we need to know what people are thinking,” she
said.

“We need to know the extent of the problem, and start developing ways to address it. We can only do this by listening to those who are affected first hand.”

The Ripple Effect is a collaborative effort led by the National Centre for Farmer Health (NCFH), in partnership with Deakin University, Victorian Farmers’ Federation, AgChatOZ, Sandpit, Western District Health Service and Mental Illness Fellowship North Queensland.

Dr Kennedy said the Ripple Effect is funded by beyondblue, with donations from the Movember Foundation, as part of a broader national effort to reduce stigma associated with suicide.

The reduction of stigma and suicide is important for beyondblue and the Movember Foundation because nearly eight Australians die by suicide every day—twice the rate of the national road toll—and of those six are men, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, with the highest number of suicide being by men aged in their 30s and 40s.

If you are experience troubles, contact Lifeline 1311 14 or beyondblue 1300 22 46 36.

2016-06-25: Spirits high at Cobden’s Dairy Day football match – The Standard

THE message at Cobden’s Dairy Day for farmers was to stick together and look out for each other.

The day was an opportunity for farmers to take a few hours away from the farm, and enjoy a game of country football at the Cobden Recreation Reserve.

Essendon Football Club legend Kevin Sheedy, cricketing great Merv Hughes, Warrnambool’s favourite son comedian Dave Hughes and 1975 AFL premiership player John ‘Mopsy’ Rantall were the ambassadors of the day, and delighted more than 180 people at a luncheon held in Cobden Football Club’s function room.

“Keep your spirits up. Not every day is a winning day in football. I’ve been in it for 50 years and when you look back on it, you put a hell of a lot of work in over your life and you don’t win every game. You put an enormous amount of work into your crop, your field, your cattle or sheep, but sometimes you just don’t get the win every time and you have to fight. In the end it will turn around. Never, ever, ever give up in life.”

2016-06-20: New website tackles suicide taboo Written – Dairy News Australia

IF YOU are a farmer, or work anywhere in agriculture, you know, or know of, someone who has taken their life.
Suicide is incredibly tragic and in most cases preventable.

Too many families and friends of people who have killed themselves have had to survive the fallout.

The ripple effect of such a loss tears apart the fabric of families and communities.

Australia needs to turn the negative ripple of suicide and stigma into a tsunami of action and support, according to the National Centre for Farmer Health.

Which is why it is about to launch a website to learn what is happening, and how regional communities are thinking about suicide.

To be launched later this month, the Ripple Effect website will enable farmers to anonymously register and view other farmers’ stories of suicide, share their own insights and find out what they can do to support the wellbeing of others and themselves.

Article no longer available. 2016-06-20: New website tackles suicide taboo Written – Dairy News Australia

Farmer Health e-News – June 2016

2016-05-26: The heartwrenching reality of suicide and depression among Australian farmers – News.com.au

IT’S the side of farming that often goes unnoticed; the area we are still “too embarrassed to talk about”.
When Katrina was just 15-years-old, and her sister was 11, their “hardworking, outgoing and socially happy” dad took his own life on their farm in Barham, on the banks of the Murray River.

As a father and loving husband to their mother Debbie, Sandy Warne suffered years of depression while working as a farmer on his 800-acre avocado property.

“My grandparents brought the farm in the 70s, and then my dad took it on when they couldn’t run it any longer,” daughter Katrina, now 34, told news.com.au

“My dad loved the farm so much, and he wanted to be a farmer his whole life. While many farmers often don’t get off their property, dad was a huge community man, really involved in golf, tennis and squash. He was outgoing, happy and very social.”

While Sandy’s depression was “very well hidden from his friends and the local community”, his family was well aware of his spiralling condition — especially in the last six months of his life.

“Dad was just 42 years old when he died, and he kept what he was feeling very well hidden from those who weren’t family,” Katrina said.

“He was actually booked to go into hospital the day after he died, but I think the thought of doing that was just too hard for him.

“In the months before dad died, he lost a lot of weight. He was very stressed, because he and mum were considering selling the farm. It was meant to be sold a few days after he died because of financial reasons.

“Because of this reason, dad felt he was a failure. But according to mum, they were never in a position where they had to sell, I think dad just felt like the farm wasn’t going well enough, so he had to get rid of it.”

Katrina, who is now married and a mother to three young children, said her father’s dream to work the family farm with his brother’s played a big toll on his depression — because his fantasy never became a reality.

“He always wanted to run the farm with his family, his dad and brothers, but that didn’t happen and so that really affected dad. He couldn’t ever let go of that dream,” she said.

“In the later months, just before he took his life, my mum knew he was getting really bad. She and my uncle took the guns away from the house because he was potentially suicidal.

“We knew how sick he was, but the problem with mental health is that once they get to a certain point, it’s very hard to help them. For dad, going to the hospital the next day was just too hard.”

And that is one of the biggest problems Katrina, who is now involved with a Beyond Blue funded project called The Ripple Effect, says farmers face today.

“People, especially men, often try and hide a problem, and sometimes don’t even know how bad their mental state is until it’s too late,” she said.

“I’m very passionate about prevention, knowing what signs to look out for and what to do when you see them.

“People aren’t very good about asking if others are OK, but we really need to do it more, and be a little more paranoid about what is going on around us.”

While Katrina admits her father’s death didn’t have a huge affect on her life when it happened, she said his death impacted her more and more as she got older, because she had to explain the circumstances to new people.

“When dad died, mum explained things to me really well, and I felt I had an understanding with what had happened,” she said.

“When it happened, everyone at school knew what happened to my dad. But as I got older, no one knew the story, so I had to tell people. When I had kids, I found it even more difficult to talk about.

“With suicide no one wants to talk about it, you can almost feel embarrassed because you’re worried about another person’s reaction. My mum would never talk about it, and she still doesn’t.”

The most recent Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Mortality Report shows that 15-24 year old males in regional areas are 1.5—1.8 times more likely to end their life by suicide than their urban counterparts. The incidence is up to six times higher in very remote areas.

In response to the dairy industry crisis, farmers in Queensland held a minute’s silence for those lost to suicide in the industry while rallying outside the state’s Parliament House.

“This is an industry-wide problem and when we’re talking industry-wide we are talking about everybody in this country,” Robbie Radel, a dairy farmer from Biggenden, said in an interview with the ABC.

“And while we’re thinking about everybody in this country I would ask you to take your hats off, we’re going to have a minute’s silence to honour those brave dairy farmers who couldn’t make their way out of this; they couldn’t see their way clear.

“They’ve taken their lives; they’ve taken what they believed to be the only option.”

Earlier this month, farmers across the Victoria were blindsided after the nation’s two largest processors, Murray Goulburn and Fonterra, slashed the price it pays suppliers for milk solids.

It’s raised new concerns about mental health and depression among dairy farmers.

Former Farmer Wants a Wife contestant Matt Goyder knows first hand what living on the land, combined with depression can do to a person. The 26-year-old, who is now an ambassador for Lifeline, has been suffering from mental health issues “since the age of 11 or 12”.

When he was 24, and six years into his career as a farmer in rural Western Australia, the cattle pastoralist spent five months in rehab to overcome his demons, and deal with post-traumatic stress disorder.

“I live, work and breathe next to the same people every day. It’s very hard to make friends, and it’s hard with relationships,” he told news.com.au

“You can’t speak to someone face-to-face about your feelings because you are so isolated. A lot of people don’t acknowledge there is a problem, because they think that being unhappy is normal.

“You get into a mentality that you don’t need friends, family or love, and you think the land and your working dog is enough. But everyone needs companionship.

“Going into rehabilitation at first was a terrifying experience, but I had reached a point where my favourite time of the day was bed, and my worst time was being awake.”

Mr Goyder, who now says he “is on top of the world”, blames the “alpha male mentality” as the reason for farming men in particular refusing to seek help for depression.

“No-one ever talks about their feelings on the land. Everyone has to hold this facade of being tough. Just grin and bare it,” he said.

“At the end of the day, everyone is human and we all have the right for love, sadness, passion and anger in life.

“There’s this culture in farming where men can’t express any of that, but they are actually really lonely. It’s such a slippery slope.

“These men dedicate their lives to a farm, so the idea that their work and their home can be snatched away because of debt … I can honestly see why people think there’s not another way out.”

The Ripple Effect, which will launch online next month, hopes to give a digital platform for farmers in rural communities who wish to express their experiences in an anonymous setting.

2016-05-06: TFGA, RAW get behind National Centre for Farmer Health supporting health checks – The Examiner

A FARM’S most valuable asset is its farmer, but it is often the thing that is neglected the most, according to the National Centre for Farmer Health (NCFH).

Tasmanian agriculture industry experts have thrown their support behind an initiative by the NCFH to encourage all farmers to get their health checked.

It can be as easy as popping down to the Rural Bank stand at Agfest and taking the free health check being offered by the centre.

Industry experts the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association and Rural Alive and Well threw their support behind the initiative at Agfest on Friday.

NCFH director Susan Brumby said the 20-minute health checks looked at blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, BMI and mental health.

In addition the centre is focusing on encouraging farmers to talk about bowel screening as well as protective equipment, and the use of ATVs.

“All farmers’ businesses depend on the health of the farmer, they need to be fit and healthy to do their farming duties,” Ms Brumby said.

2016-05-06: Farmer Safety & Farmer Health & Lifestyle Assessments from Agfest – Southern Cross News

National Centre for Farmer Health featured in an article on farm safety in Southern Cross News on 6th of May edition.

To view footage: Southern Cross News and view 6th of May edition then scroll to the 5.30 mark.

2016-05-05: Agri expo ready to roll for another year at Quercus Park near Carrick – The Mercury

A LANDMARK Tasmanian event bridging the urban-rural divide is ready to fling open its gates at Quercus Rural Youth Park near Carrick.

Agfest pumps more than $26 million into the state’s economy and is a chance for urban dwellers to get a glimpse of the state’s agricultural production, worth $1.44 billion and sourced from 3340 farms.

It’s been a tough year for many Tasmanian farmers, but the next three days will provide a chance to shed the burden of the big dry.

Working closely with Agfest representatives, the University of Tasmania has devised a bigger program this year for all ages including live “touch tanks” of marine creatures.

The Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) will bring a hi-tech experience to the agri sector. The university tent can be found on site 404 along Fourth Avenue.

Agfest chairwoman Kate Coad said everything was coming along well and the recent rains were not causing concern.

“It might bit soft underfoot, but we have logistic plans ready for weather events,” Ms Coad said.

“A lot of setting up work is done and the site is looking good. We are excited about opening the gate to patrons.”

Agfest operations manager Ricky Edson said the drains were working well.

“It’s surprising really because a lot of the water has just soaked in because it was so dry,” he said.

This year a record 762 exhibitors have booked spots at Quercus Park, with more than 70,000 people expected to flood through the gates.

First held in 1983, Agfest is run solely by volunteers from Rural Youth Tasmania and every year the program is tweaked.

This year’s changes include the return of Equine Expo after a one-year hiatus.

Agfest is traditionally a one-stop shop to help farmers get the job done — from stocking and financial advice, to mental and physical health tips.

Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association is encouraging everyone in the sector to take some time out.

TFGA chief executive Peter Skillern urges all farmers to visit the crew from the National Centre for Farmer Health, housed with their partner Rural Bank at site 113.

[… more]

To read the full article: 2016-05-05: ‘Agri expo ready to roll for another year at Quercus Park near Carrick’ – The Mercury

2016-05-09: ‘Farming’s not always easy’ – The Primary Producer

Maria Parente and her husband, Shaun Beasley, have been farming for over 35 years in the Bairnsdale area. Maria is also a psychologist and knows better than most that farming is not always an easy vocation.

During her 16 years practising in Bairnsdale and its surrounds, Maria has seen it all.

“I’ve seen firsthand, particularly through drought, how challenging it can be on the land.

“The vagaries of the weather or a change in commodity prices can really affect farmers.

A few years ago Maria knew a local farmer who subsequently suicided after a relationship breakdown and financial difficulties.

Sadly, each day in Australia seven people take their lives and many are farmers.

“Men, especially farmers, don’t communicate as well a women, but they need to know there is support out there,” Maria said.

Maria is part of the national steering group that has formed Ripple Effect – a partnership between leading rural advocacy, academic and health organisations to prevent farmer suicides.

With funding from beyond blue, The Ripple Effect steering group will soon launch an online platform where farmers can feel comfortable to share their experience of suicide – whether this is about thoughts of suicide, caring for someone who has attempted suicide or lost someone through suicide.

2016-03 ‘Talking Turkey – Rural Suicide Prevention’ – BLUES Country Magazine

Farmer Health e-News – May 2016

2016-04-26: ‘Health program in northern Victoria’ – The Australian Dairyfarmer

Sustainable Farm Families™

Northern Victorian farming men and women are being provided a unique opportunity to participate in the award-winning Sustainable Farm FamiliesTM (SFF) program, which focuses on the health, wellbeing and safety of farmers and their families.

The SFF program was developed specifically for farm men and women— by farm men and women—and involves interactive workshops that address their specific health, wellbeing and safety.

The Stanhope, Victoria, workshop will be held on Tuesday, June 21 and Wednesday, June 22.