The Land

Growing our farmers' mental health

Tom Newton, Business Manager for MaxCare, on the left and Warren Davies, The Unbreakable Farmer, whose insights from his own mental health journey are the basis of the first video in the 'Growing Stronger Every day' series.
Tom Newton, Business Manager for MaxCare, on the left and Warren Davies, The Unbreakable Farmer, whose insights from his own mental health journey are the basis of the first video in the 'Growing Stronger Every day' series.

This is sponsored content for MaxCare.

Supporting dairy farmers since 2014 with their range of infant animal nutrition products, MaxCare are now proud to launch Growing Stronger Every Day, a video series designed to remove the stigma around mental health and help Australia's farmers during some of the toughest conditions on record.

January 2017 to December 2019 has been the driest 36-month period across eastern Australia.

Add to this the hottest summer recorded in 2018 and 2019 leading to catastrophic bushfires resulting in more than 12 million acres burnt across the country and we have a terrible trifecta of conditions that has left the Australian agriculture industry facing unprecedented challenges.

Australian farmers are now in unchartered territory due to these record-breaking farming conditions.

With this in mind, MaxCare, are launching the first video in the Growing Stronger Every Day series which focuses on building stronger rural communities.

Dedicated to improving rural community life, Tom Newton, Business Manager for MaxCare, explains the idea behind the video series further.

"Our farmers continue to face challenging conditions; this is a time for the agriculture industry to rally together to support our farmers and help build stronger rural communities," Tom said.

In this video series you'll hear from industry leading experts on how calf nutrition can affect the long-term profitability of your herd as well interviews with professionals, passionate about rural and regional mental health that are making a difference in our rural communities.

"MaxCare is there every step of the way, we're here to support our customers through the good times and more importantly in the challenging times, we are aware of the true challenges and unpredictability of life on the land," Tom said.

"Mental illness in the bush can be hard to detect, tough exteriors built by the harsh landscape we owe our livelihoods to, and the signature attitude of 'she'll be right' can sometimes get us into strife.

"With this video series we want to remove the stigma around mental health and help our farmers address these challenging conditions.

The first episode of the six-part series features Warren Davies, 'The Unbreakable Farmer.'

A dairy farmer himself, Warren discusses his own mental health journey after a major flood triggered a slow downward spiral that he initially didn't do anything about.

"I really neglected my own well-being," Warren said.

"Now I realise in hindsight your well-being is very important as if you're not operating at 100 per cent how can anything else in your business, relationships or financial life, how can that be 100 per cent."

In the video Warren outlines his key messages for others who may find themselves in similar situations:

1. Communication is key - make sure you communicate and talk about how you are feeling

2. Stay connected to your community, whatever that means to you

3. Seek help and treat it seriously - don't ignore the signs or the advice you might get

According to the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health, suicide rates are 50 per cent higher in rural and remote communities compared to capital cities a statistic not lost on program manager Tessa Caton.

"It's really encouraging to see that MaxCare are realising the vital connection between looking after your mental health and how this impacts business performance and profitability," Tessa said.

"We need more companies taking a role like this because mental health is everyone's responsibility."

Finally a word from Tom Newton who believes while the situation is difficult there is still much that can be done.

"There is power in community and we believe if we work together as an agricultural industry to remove the stigma around mental health and support our farmers during this time, we'll be able to make a real difference," Tom said.

The MaxCare range of products has been created to deliver maximum growth, nutrition and health support for infant animals recognising the impact the early months of life have on whole of life production. Developing and expanding on this idea, MaxCare continue to look at ways to improve the well-being of calves as well as the mental well-being of the greater farming community.

For more information about the Growing Stronger Every Day video series, visit maxumanimal.com.au/growingstrongerveryday.

This is sponsored content for MaxCare.