THE Victorian Farmers Federation Making our Farms Safer project (VFF MOFS) is helping to shine a light on farmer’s mental health during National Farm Safety Week by helping to make it an integral part of farm safety culture.  

VFF vice-president, Danyel Cucinotta said recent statistics showed just under half of Australia’s farmers reported feeling depressed at some stage in recent years and this was the catalyst for change.

“There’s a real stigma around mental health, especially in farming communities and people not wanting to burden their family or friends with their problems and the result can sadly be devastating,” Ms Cucinotta said.

“We’re working towards a shift in farm safety culture and a big part of that is realising mental health plays a huge part in overall farm safety.

“National Farm Safety Week is a fantastic opportunity to start the conversation, but this is a long-term focus to help shift the dial towards improving mental health practices in our communities.”

The increased emphasis comes as the VFF MOFS Mental Health Guidebook Steering Committee met for the first time last week as work ramps up to release the fit-for-purpose guidebook.

“This guidebook will be a unique resource made specifically for farmers and tackling the unique issues that we face with life on the land,” Ms Cucinotta said.

“The Committee is made up of farmers and includes a number of mental health professionals that together are working to provide a unique resource for farmers.

“The guidebook promises to be a critical tool for farmer health and hope it helps set the foundations for mental health to be a central pillar of farmer wellbeing.”

The Mental Health Guidebook will be released in November this year and will aim to develop a trusted link between farmers and mental health providers based on VFF’s previous strong engagement with farmers.

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