National Council of the Rural Support Trust Neil Bateup. Photo / Rural Support Trust
Farmers have a lot on their plate this year and that's before Covid-19 is brought into the mix, chair of the National Council of the Rural Support Trust Neil Bateup says.
Adverse weather conditions all over New Zealand were already a huge challenge, Bateup told The Country's Jamie Mackay.
Southland was struggling with drought and there had been flooding in Gisborne, Canterbury, Marlborough, the West Coast, Taranaki and Marokopa, Bateup said.
"There's been heaps happening - and on top of that's there's been Covid."
While floods were traumatic to deal with, the stress of coping with drought could sometimes creep up in a more subtle way, Bateup said.
He'd had a lot of experience with drought on his North Waikato dairy farm and things were still "fairly tight" with no rain for a couple of weeks.
"Droughts … are insidious, they just come in and slowly grow … and it takes a decent dump of rain [to stop them]."
Coping with drought could also put a lot of strain on farmers' mental health, Bateup said.
Excess stock and a lack of feed exacerbated the problem.
Listen below:
Luckily for Bateup, on his farm, he'd made a lot of supplement feed in the spring but he feared some farmers wouldn't be as fortunate.
"It's almost a perfect storm type scenario this year and I feel for the Southland people who haven't got access to feed at reasonable prices - and they're getting closer to winter."
However, there was one positive aspect to a drought that ran later, Bateup said.
"The later they go you get scared that [grass] is not going to grow when it rains but when it does rain – growth is often phenomenal."
He also had a bit of advice for anyone doing it tough – find your "happy place".
Bateup was already looking forward to spending the afternoon in his own happy place.
"There's nothing better than sitting out in the boat with a line over the side, whether I'm catching fish or not - it's just being out there. I can shut the world off and that's my happy place.
"Everybody needs to find a happy place."
Find out more about the Rural Support Trust here.
Shane McManaway encourages anyone who is feeling low to open up, share their story and not be afraid of having a good cry.
McManaway, who is the former chief executive of Allflex, has had his own struggles with mental health, he told The Country's Jamie Mackay.
"It's a dark hole when you get down that deep and you don't think you're going to climb out."
Luckily for McManaway, he came out of that dark hole and found talking about it was a great help.
It also inspired him to help others, along with his "great friend" The Resilient Farmer, Doug Avery.
"We've been on a crusade … and we've gone out there to try and spread the word that it's OK not to be OK."
While McManaway admitted he's not a mental health professional he had often taken calls from "somebody who's feeling a bit down and out," and referred them to a specialist.
Listen to Jamie Mackay interview Shane McManaway about his wellbeing story as well as his involvement with the IHC Calf and Rural Scheme below:
He said having somebody to talk to, or even someone who was "just prepared to listen" was vital.
"[Someone to say] hey, it's OK to shed a few tears … and it's OK to tell your story because you're better off with us than not."
Sharing that story and shedding tears could help get "some of that pent up emotion out of your system," McManaway said.
"There's always a way forward. There's always somebody there that's prepared to help and somebody that's prepared to listen.
"Just put your hand up and say hey - I'm not feeling too good because there'll be a heap out there [who feel that way] and it's something that's very fixable if you open up and talk about it."
Where to get help:
Rural Support Trust: 0800 787 254
Lifeline: 0800 543 354 (available 24/7)
Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
Youthline: 0800 376 633
Kidsline: 0800 543 754 (available 24/7)
Whatsup: 0800 942 8787 (1pm to 11pm)
Depression helpline: 0800 111 757 (available 24/7)
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
Surfing for Farmers is a household name in rural New Zealand but the inspiration for the initiative came from further afield, founder Stephen Thomson says.
In 2018, Gisborne rural real estate agent Thomson was watching a documentary on American soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The soldiers used surfing as therapy and Thomson wondered if it could also help Kiwi farmers.
Thomson's "crazy idea" turned out to be a winner and in 2018 the first Surfing for Farmers meet up took place, he told The Country's Jamie Mackay.
Once he had support from the "Gizzy board riders" and sponsorship from local companies, Thomson was ready and waiting with gear, coaches and a BBQ for afterwards, he said.
All he needed was for the farmers to arrive.
"I've told this story 100 times now but - day one - about 25 farmers turned up from all over Gisborne and the coast and we haven't looked back really."
Since then, the initiative has gone from strength to strength and is now held in 25 locations around New Zealand, from Sandy Bay and Waipu Cove in the far north, to Kaka Point and Colac Bay in the south.
Listen below:
Surfing for Farmers isn't just about catching a wave, it's about getting the farmers off the farm for a couple of hours each week to unwind and have fun with peers.
The initiative has also attracted "six big premium sponsors" - Rabobank, Bayleys Real Estate, Ballance Agri-Nutrients, Jarden, Meridian Energy and Beef + Lamb NZ, Thomson said.
Rabobank was even helping out by giving away 23 woollen surfboards it had created with Barron Surfboards.
There was strong local sponsorship too, Thomson said.
"Over and above those guys we've got just over 200 locally owned and operated companies that are sponsoring us."
It wasn't just businesses offering support either.
"We had a preschool sponsor us … I was really intrigued so I rang the lady up and asked her – how come you sponsored Surfing for Farmers?
"And she said – when the dads are happy the kids are happy and it just has a huge flow-on effect and we're more than happy to sponsor this."
Find out more about Surfing for Farmers here.
Living on a high country farming, running an online fitness business and raising three children is a challenge but Kate Ivey says it's worth it.
"I love my job. I love helping people, so I just find the time," she told The Country's Jamie Mackay.
Ivey is the woman behind DediKate, a series of short and effective workouts that she and her team of seven trainers post online for members in New Zealand and Australia.
She described DediKate as "kind of like those workout DVDs" but a bit more accessible.
"You see us struggling, it's relatable, sometimes the kids come into the screen. We keep it professional but it's down to earth."
Ivey lives at the eastern end of Lake Pukaki in Mackenzie Country with her husband Mark and their three children.
She has a bachelor of physical education majoring in exercise prescription and management, and a bachelor of science majoring in psychology.
Listen below:
She originally launched Kate Ivey - Fitness, Health and Inspiration in 2016, with a focus on rural women, who often had trouble accessing gyms.
However, when the pandemic brought about a boom in online fitness, Ivey found her business fading into the background.
"It was really hard for people to see us amongst all the noise because our previous point of difference was our healthy lifestyle approach but everyone's doing that now."
Ivey reassessed her business and returned to her rural roots but left the door open for an urban audience.
"We have women in the cities as well who love this down to earth, country approach to everything."
DediKate also helped with members' wellbeing, as exercise and mental health went "hand in hand", Ivey said.
"It helps us instantly, we feel the rush of endorphins and then, longer-term, it increases our self-efficacy, our confidence and just our all-round mental and physical wellbeing.
"We can't have our physical wellbeing without our mental wellbeing and vice versa."
Taking members' focus off weight loss and onto how they felt, also led to a more consistent exercise routine, Ivey said.
"That's been amazing."
Find out more about DediKate here.
It was just another ordinary weeknight on the farm for Jack Cocks, when he suddenly got "a cracking headache".
"It was more pain than I'd ever had in my life. I knew I was in trouble," he told The Country's Rowena Duncum.
Cocks' "headache" turned out to be a life-threatening aneurysm.
The Lake Wakatipu sheep and beef farmer was rushed to Dunedin hospital by helicopter, where surgeons found an existing condition had led to the aneurysm.
"It was just basically poor plumbing that I was born with," he said.
That was back in 2013. Now, Cocks shares the story of his recovery with others, hoping it will help them face life's challenges.
Cocks spent "a fair bit of time" in hospital over six years, undergoing around 15 surgeries, mostly on his brain. He also had to learn to walk and talk again.
Luckily, he didn't have to face it alone.
"The main things that helped me was support from my family, my mates and all the amazing medical staff."
Cocks also figured out what he needed "to be well and happy and content".
"Exercise is really important. Celebrating little successes is important. Enjoying the little things in life is important. Being grateful for things.
"All those little things that make you feel good at the end of the day."
Cocks is the manager of Mt Nicholas station, a high-country merino sheep and cattle station, on the western shores of Lake Wakatipu.
He said keeping in touch with family, mates and other farmers was vital for his wellbeing.
"All those support networks you've got ... those are really important for me to be able to recover."
After his experience, Cocks was asked to talk to farmer groups about how he coped with adversity. While he was humbled and surprised by the positive reception from his talks, he started to question his credentials.
Listen below:
"I was talking to farmers about resilience but was I actually an expert on resilience?"
This led him to study how resilient farmers thrive in the face of adversity as part of the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme.
Cocks studied five farmers from around the South Island who were all going through different challenges.
He noticed there were three common strategies these farmers used to cope with adversity.
• Live with purpose - understand why you're doing what you're doing.
• Stay connected - keep in contact with family and friends.
• Keep well - work out what keeps you well, whether it's exercise, being grateful or appreciating the little things.
Cocks's story, along with 28 other rural Kiwis, is featured in a new book "Farmstrong Live, Well, Farm Well".
Farmstrong is a nationwide wellbeing programme for the rural community. Telling his story in the book was a chance for Cocks to "give back".
"Farmers listen to other farmers. The Farmstrong philosophy, where they have farmer stories out there mixed in with expert advice in relevant fields ... I think is really good.
This "farmers helping farmers" approach had been successful for Cocks so far.
"The feedback I've had has motivated me to help people in the way that I've been helped."