National Farmer Wellbeing Report

29 March 2023

New research released today paints a saddening picture of the mental health of Australia’s hard-working farmers with close to third (30%) reporting a decline in their mental health over the past few years.

The National Farmer Wellbeing Report, commissioned by Norco – Australia’s oldest and largest 100% farmer owned dairy co-operative – in partnership with the National Farmers’ Federation, has found that in recent years, nearly half of Australian farmers (45%) have felt depressed, with almost two thirds (64%) experiencing anxiety. For one in seven (14%), it’s a frequent experience.

Even more devastating, close to half of Australian farmers (45%) have had thoughts of self-harm or suicide, while close to a third (30%) have attempted self-harm or suicide. Shining a spotlight on a national health crisis needing urgent attention, this data adds to existing bodies of research which found that one farmer commits suicide every 10 days and Australian farmers are twice as likely to commit suicide when compared to the general population.

More than a quarter of farmers (27%) say feelings of loneliness or isolation, combined with limited access to mental health services have had the biggest impact on their mental health over the past five years.

Read the full media release on the National Farmers’ Federation website.

BCCM commends this valuable report commissioned by Norco

BCCM CEO Melina Morrison commented, “As the peak body for farmer-owned co-operatives representing more than 24,000 Aussie farmers across the country, I commend this valuable report commissioned by Norco, Australia’s last remaining 100 per cent farmer owned major dairy processor, in conjunction with the national Farmers Federation.

“Farmers have been helping each other cope with the challenges and uncertainties of farming since settlement by forming co-operative businesses, so it’s not surprising to see one of our oldest and most resilient co-operatives, Norco, leading in the space around farmers’ mental health. This report highlights more than ever the importance of a collaborative approach. Not only are our farmers facing the challenges of global export markets and fighting floods and fires, many are also facing mental health problems.

“The leadership displayed by Norco on this issue demonstrates that when you have farmers around the board table thinking about the things that make running family farms difficult in these challenging times, you quickly get to the nub of the problem. We hope the NFF will do more work with farmer co-ops in Australia to support the people who put food on our tables and protect our food security in times of crisis. We need farmers as much as they need our understanding and support. Co-ops like Norco know better than anyone about the hardships faced by our farming families, because they owned and controlled by those same farmers.”

 

Read more:

ABC News: Alarming report on farmer mental health prompts peak body to call for urgent action

National Farmers’ Federation: Farmers in crisis: Depression and anxiety rife among Aussie farmers

If you or anyone you know needs help:

Latest news

09 December 2024

Spotlight on Australia as UN declares 2025 the International Year of Cooperatives

The impressive economic and community role played by Australian co-operatives and mutuals will be centre stage next year with the UN declaring 2025 as International Year...
06 December 2024

Melina Morrison on how do we live our co-operative identity?

Melina Morrison on co-operative identity: “we want get this right, we want to improve … We can get better at sharing our identity this is our challenge and...
03 December 2024

AAC2024: Co-operatives as models of social business in the Asia-Pacific

Melina Morrison and Michael Pilbrow will join a panel on co-operatives as models of social business in the Asia-Pacific at the 2024 Australasian AID Conference this week.