{"id":62023,"date":"2023-04-28T10:31:07","date_gmt":"2023-04-27T22:31:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersweekly.co.nz\/?p=62023"},"modified":"2023-04-28T12:15:46","modified_gmt":"2023-04-28T00:15:46","slug":"hey-farmer-your-health-comes-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersweekly.co.nz\/people\/hey-farmer-your-health-comes-first\/","title":{"rendered":"Hey, farmer! Your health comes first"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 5<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

Accessing health and wellbeing services can be tricky for people working rurally. That\u2019s why Farmstrong has teamed up with Taranaki Catchment Communities, Melanoma New Zealand, Stay Well and CareHQ to offer free health and wellbeing checks for farmers in Taranaki.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The events, sponsored by rural insurer FMG, attracted people from all over the district. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One farmer travelled an hour and half to take advantage of the checks.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first event in Uruti saw a steady stream of local farmers, growers and their families pull in to popular gathering spot Bratwurst Bros, where free coffee and a \u201cbrat in a bun\u201d were on offer for those who stuck around for a chat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second event took place in south Taranaki at the iconic Oaonui hall, about five minutes\u2019 drive from Opunake.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local dairy farmer Kane Brisco was there both days representing Farmstrong, to remind people of the importance of looking after themselves as well as their stock, land and machinery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kane\u2019s book, Tools for the Top Paddock,<\/em> which openly discusses the challenges of farming, has been a best-seller. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo be proactive about your physical health is often difficult for farmers. It\u2019s so hard for them to get off farm to get into a GP, so bringing those checks out here to Uriti, which is off the beaten path a little bit, is great,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you ask a farmer \u2018What\u2019s the most important thing you\u2019ve got on your farm?\u2019 , a lot of them will say the animals, the woolshed, the tractor or their working dogs or something like that, but how good are those without you? To stay resilient, you need to get yourself into the frame of mind where you<\/em> are the biggest cog in the machine. And today is all about  looking after that cog. If you oil it, grease it and pay it some love then everything else around you, including the farm, is just going to be work so much better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul Turner, project lead of Taranaki Catchment Communities, agrees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRural communities are very busy, so taking time to get off farm to get into town is often down the priority list. Enabling people to come and have checks around melanoma, glucose, cholesterol and their mental wellbeing is great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s face it, without wellbeing in the community, nothing else matters. If you aren\u2019t in a good space or you\u2019re worried about your mental wellbeing and you don\u2019t know who to talk to, then all the pressures of farming just compound. So, let\u2019s get this base foundation sorted. Once we\u2019ve had morning milking and the chores done, I think we\u2019ll see a good turnout.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turner was right; despite the rain and the school holidays, a steady stream of the locals dropped by. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Farmer Jody le Bas turned up with her friend Diane Dickson.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Le Bas says, \u201cI like Farmstrong\u2019s advice and the way they offer opportunities to get off farm. There\u2019s no doubt things are a bit more challenging at the moment with things like interest rates and farm expenses rising. You can feel isolated at times in farming. Instead of bottling it all in, it\u2019s good to be able to come along and talk to someone. For anyone doing it tough, Farmstrong provides another option, when maybe people don\u2019t think there are options.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local fencing contractor Trent Feather shared how mentally challenging farm work can be at times, despite his 12 years\u2019 experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDuring summer, you\u2019re working by yourself, getting baked all day, then finally autumn hits and things are a little easier, then winter turns up and \u2018the blues\u2019 set in. Things don\u2019t happen as fast as they did three months ago, and that\u2019s when things can get on top of you. Suddenly you\u2019re walking along by yourself and the old hamster upstairs is whirring along at a hundred miles an hour and you\u2019re just thinking \u2018Why am I doing this?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feather says he\u2019s learnt to read the signs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can tell nowadays when it\u2019s time to stop for a cuppa because the simple things feel harder and no matter what you touch it all seems to turn to shit,\u201d he laughs. \u201cThat\u2019s when it\u2019s time to get the thermos out, take a big, deep breath and reset. And then away you go again. It\u2019s amazing how much easier that makes things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We asked Feather why he took time off to drop by. \u201cI\u2019ve got young kids at home. I want to role-model to them that it\u2019s important to take care of yourself and be there for the long haul. I think anything Farmstrong can do to help the state of the nation with things like mental health is top notch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christine and Don Munro farm deer, sheep and beef in Tarata and have been farming for 24 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe spot checks are something you\u2019ve just got to do these days,\u201d Don said.  \u201cWe\u2019ve had friends who\u2019ve had bits and pieces chopped out and we\u2019re at that age now. I think it\u2019s great offering these checks otherwise we probably wouldn\u2019t have got it done. We keep on talking about it, but it\u2019s easy to let these things go down the list.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further south in Oaonui, dairy farmer Jacques le Prou shared similar sentiments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were heading to Okato anyway, so I thought it\u2019s good to get checked out. You don\u2019t know what\u2019s there and the sun\u2019s pretty unforgiving these days.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Le Prou also shared a few tips about how he stays Farmstrong \u2013 scheduling regular downtime and breaks was high on the agenda. \u201cWe\u2019ve got grandparents down the South Island and found that a good escape. Once you\u2019re on the ferry there\u2019s no coming back. It\u2019s good to get away because everyone we talk to round here, it\u2019s about farming. Down there you\u2019re not talking about farming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFarming can be a great job if you set it up so you\u2019re not stressed and you can do things like today. You\u2019ve gotta enjoy your farming. If you\u2019re not enjoying it, why do it?  Obviously as with anything, there are hard times, but you\u2019ve still got to make the most of it. That\u2019s why I\u2019m out today with the kids taking them to the skate park for a runaround.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul Turner reflected on the value of both events. \u201cI\u2019m astounded at how resilient a lot of farmers are, but also I know from the wellbeing workshops we\u2019ve run, that sometimes people \u2018put on a face\u2019. It\u2019s as if they have to pretend to be this person that can cope with everything. So having people like Sam Whitelock or Kane Brisco telling people it\u2019s okay to ask for help is inspirational.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s face it, if your health or mental health aren\u2019t good, everything else is going to feel overwhelming. Creating a space where people can talk about these issues and understand that they\u2019re not alone and there are people out there who can help is crucial for the future success and sustainability of farming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s leave the final word to Taranaki dairy farmer Kane Brisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think more and more farmers are getting involved with Farmstrong because they are like me \u2013 they want to be proactive about their mental and physical health. It is hugely important to being a successful farmer. The resources and knowledge that Farmstrong shares are really simple and easy to understand. Farmstrong\u2019s also set up to help farmers on a massive scale. Last year, 17,000 farmers improved their wellbeing because of it. To me that\u2019s super cool and that\u2019s what I love to get behind.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nothing on farm is going to work just as it should if you are feeling run down.\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":62028,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[129,102],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t