Farmstrong’s Live Well, Farm Well podcast: Abbi Ayre

Reefton dairy farmer Abbi Ayre shared her post-partum psychosis story with The Country's Rowena Duncum.

This year, The Country radio show’s executive producer Rowena Duncum caught up with Farmstrong farmers from all over New Zealand to talk about how they tackle life’s challenges and look after their wellbeing. She was so impressed with the results, she decided to share their stories here.

Abbi Ayre is a Reefton dairy farmer.

Ayre and her husband Frikke lease one dairy farm and contract milk another - with around 630 cows total.

Before having children, Abbi had enjoyed being very involved in the industry - featuring prominently in the Dairy Women’s Network as a board representative, and also doing a mating run as a qualified artificial breeding technician.

However, when Ayre gave birth amid the Covid-19 pandemic and then developed sepsis post-partum, requiring an ICU stay, things started to unravel.

She developed post-partum psychosis - which affects one in 1000 women - and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, separated from her newborn daughter.

Ayre recovered, only to relapse after the birth of her second child.

Bravely, she has since opened up to try to normalise the conversation and help others in similar situations.

Here, she speaks to The Country’s Rowena Duncum about her farming journey, health battles and tips for others who may be facing challenges.

Listen below:

What is Farmstrong?

Farming is a job with a unique set of challenges.

Many are hard to predict or control. They range from climate events like droughts and floods to fluctuations in commodity prices, changing government legislation and new technology.

Along with these external factors come the demands of running any business – financial and production planning, managing cash flow, hiring and managing staff, succession planning etc.

These pressures aren’t going to disappear, so it’s vital farmers develop the skills and resilience to cope.

Research shows many farmers are great at looking after their equipment and stock but, like other New Zealanders, they can neglect their own wellbeing.

As an industry, we can’t afford to let these pressures reach the point where they damage productivity and affect the lives of families.

Farmstrong is an initiative to help farmers, growers and their families cope with the ups and downs of farming by sharing things they can do to look after themselves and the people in their business.

Find out more about Farmstrong here.