Farmstrong: Helping farmers help each other for seven years

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Farmstrong's programme lead Gerard Vaughan has been with the nationwide wellbeing programme since it was launched in 2015 and has seen so much progress in those seven years.

"We're seeing a lot of growth and momentum and engagement with the farmers and growers who are coming on board and making that happen," Vaughan told The Country's Rowena Duncum.

Farmstrong also had the numbers to back it up, through an annual survey involving 450 randomly chosen farmers and growers, Vaughan said.

"We ask them questions about their wellbeing ... and we also ask them how much of an improvement they attribute to their involvement in Farmstrong."

The results were positive, with 22 per cent of participants saying Farmstrong helped them with their wellbeing, Vaughan said.

Those farmers were then contacted for a follow-up interview to find out more about how Farmstrong had helped.

"The stories of change have just been fantastic."

Farmstrong was "a lightbulb moment" for some participants - often because another farmer had shared their experience and strategies, Vaughan said.

One of the top strategies for coping with stress was getting time off-farm, whether it was for a holiday, a coffee in town, or visiting a neighbour.

"I heard a lovely story from one of our follow-up interviews [from a] farmer that said Farmstrong's really nudged me to just reach out and connect with other people and to just find out how they're doing.

"So he said, in the last week, twice, I have pulled over on the side of the road to talk to my neighbours and I would never have done that before. He said it's good."

The primary sector offered other great initiatives as well, such as Surfing for Farmers, Vaughan said.

"That's just an opportunity to get off-farm and learn how to surf but really, it's to have a barbeque and chew the fat afterwards."

Farmstrong was also hosting comedy evenings so farmers could "have a laugh" and connect with their mates, Vaughan said.

As always, there were loads of resources on Farmstrong's website to help anyone who needed advice on a range of topics, from sleep to burnout to healthy eating.

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"The good thing is that it's farmers who are talking about how they apply those things through their stories."

The authenticity and practicality of these stories helped other farmers to realise they weren't alone, Vaughan said.

"One of the people interviewed said - I thought it was just me and I felt a lot of shame that I was struggling."

This farmer lost his sense of shame when he read others' stories through Farmstrong, Vaughan said.

"[He realised] we're in this together and there are things you can do and it made him feel better.

"I find that very inspiring and quite moving actually."