Mental Health in the Agriculture industry webinar

Hi, everyone.

Welcome to the Mental Health in the Agriculture industry webinar hosted by the Queensland Government through Workplace Health and Safety Queensland.

We are delighted you've joined us here for this inaugural event held during Queensland Mental Health Week, a week dedicated to delivering awareness, reducing stigma, and strengthening support for mental health and wellbeing across our State.

Thank you to you for your commitment to creating mentally healthy workplaces and for actively advancing organisational awareness of psychological health, safety, and early intervention.

Together, we're delivering safer, healthier workplaces and stronger mental health support for every Queenslander.
We'd like to start by respectfully acknowledging the First Nations people in the state of Queensland.

We acknowledge the cultural and spiritual connection that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have with the land and sea.

We respectfully acknowledge Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people as two unique and diverse peoples with their own rich and distinct cultures.

We pay our respects to elders past and present, as well as the existing and emerging leaders who walk together in partnership on this journey. Please note that the advice shared in this recording is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances.

This presentation exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make decisions in your workplace.

A little bit of housekeeping.

First up, you can make this presentation full screen by selecting the four small arrows next to the volume bar at the bottom of your screen.

If that doesn't work, contact us via the chat box or via events@oir.qld.gov au.

If you have any questions for our speaker or panellists, please type them into the chat box at any point during the presentation.

As we move through the program, we'll be exploring a range of topics around mental health, including lived experiences and psychosocial hazards.

If at any point you feel uneasy or would like to take a break, please feel free to pause the video.

A recording will be made available if you'd like to watch it later.

Of course, the reason we are here today is Mental Health Week.

Mental health affects us all, and statistics show that one in two people will experience a mental health condition at some point in their lifetime, and almost one in five in any given year.

With so much of our time spent in the workplace, particularly for those who live on the land, it's highly likely you will work alongside or support someone facing these challenges sometimes without even realising it.

We know people working in agriculture face unique pressures, long hours, isolation, financial stress, extreme weather, and a strong sense of responsibility to land, family, and community.

Research shows that people in rural industries are more likely to experience mental health challenges and less likely to seek support.

This session is part of our response to what we are hearing across communities and industry from individuals, from organisations, and from people on the ground.

Whether you are a manager, an employee, a PCBU, a farmer, or working in a small business, we all play a vital role in creating and sustaining mentally healthy workplaces.

These are workplaces that actively promote wellbeing, psychological risks, build resilience, and provide support for recovery without stigma or discrimination.

Beyond being the right thing to do, prioritising psychological health and safety is also a legislative requirement, and it delivers stronger, healthier, and more productive workplaces.

As you hear from our speakers today, I challenge you to reflect on what more you can do to nurture mentally healthy workplaces.

Today is about finding practical strategies to protect and support mental health and wellbeing in rural and regional workplaces.

There's a presentation from Dr. Tim Driscoll, followed by a Q and A session.

Our panel discussion will include Dr. Tim Driscoll, plus Ruth Thompson from AgForce Queensland, and Jasmine Smith from the Queensland Farmers Federation.

Our special guests will speak about their real world experience and passion for supporting others.

They'll share strategies that go beyond crisis response, focusing on what we can do day to day to build healthier, safer workplaces for ourselves and those around us.

It's now my pleasure to introduce you to our speaker of the day, Dr. Tim Driscoll, and our panellists, Ruth Thompson from AgForce, and Jasmine Smith from the Queensland Farmers Federation.

Ruth Thompson, Policy Director at AgForce Queensland brings a wealth of experience from paddock to policy in agriculture and rural advocacy.

We're also joined by Jasmine Smith, Project Manager at Queensland Farmers Federation, who leads impactful workforce and safety training across Queensland's agricultural Sector.

Our keynote speaker today, Dr. Tim Driscoll, is a clinical psychologist and State Manager for Mental Health at the Royal Flying Doctor Service Queensland section.

He leads the strategic delivery of mental health and wellbeing services across rural and remote Queensland with a strong focus on community connection, access and cultural responsiveness.

Passionate about supporting the agricultural sector, Tim advocates for services that address the unique pressures faced by primary producers, including drought, isolation, succession stress, and economic uncertainty.

He works closely with agribusiness, community leaders and government to ensure services make sense on the ground.

Welcome, Tim.

Well, thank you very much for that introduction. I'm certainly very excited to be with you today, talking about a very important subject, tackling psychosocial hazards in rural Queensland with a particular focus on agriculture.

So, it's certainly a pleasure to talk to this important topic today.

I guess one of the, the first things that we'd probably like to really focus on is actually what is a psychosocial hazard?
And really, a psychosocial hazard is all of those factors that are in the workplace that can harm our mental health.

And I guess when we talk about that, what we really need to focus on is, well, what is our mental health in the first place?

Well, mental health is really about our thinking, so, we we're able to think clearly, we're able to feel quite good as we go through our day and we're able to face those challenges that come at us, and also, we're able to sort of communicate, and contribute in a meaningful way to our community.

So, some of those things that might impact that ability are some of the things that we see so often in agriculture.
Things like high workload, long hours. I mean, that kind of defines agriculture.

I think it's, you know, it's certainly part of the field and we, I think we all acknowledge that, but it can be an increased pressure on people working in the sector.

The other thing that can come up is unclear expectations.

You know, particularly when people are starting in the area, young ringers going out west, for example, might not necessarily be across, across everything.

And sometimes communicating what's required is key to that as well.

Also, things like poor support from managers or colleagues, and that's true across all workplaces.

It's particularly true in agriculture where you might have smaller teams and some of them are often family businesses as well.

And some of those things that often come to mind as, you know, things like bullying, harassment, and isolation.

And that can happen in a geographic sense, but can also happen in terms of being left out of a group or being put on the sideline, you know, in a workplace.

So, they're just some of those examples.

And again, what we're really focusing on are those things that can negatively impact our mental health.

So it's really, really key that we do have an understanding of what they are and what we can do to reduce the impact or actually remove them from the workplace.

I guess the key thing to talk about here in a rural and agricultural context is that most businesses that are in rural areas are actually family businesses.

Obviously, there are some large pastoral companies, and there are other examples.

But what that means is that there's a really large overlap of work and home.

And what that means is that you don't necessarily have an escape from one another either.

If there's a bit of tension in the workplace, it's probably going to be at home as well, which can be a bit of a challenge.
And also in agriculture, there's some unique challenges.

Some of those are around the fact that it's an agricultural business, and often they're small businesses.

So, those challenges that we see in other areas are really amplified here.

Some of the other things that are probably unique to a rural and agricultural context is that really everyone knows everyone in a rural area.

And now that can be a really good thing in terms of connection, but it also can be a bit of a challenge in privacy.

So, in terms of when we're looking to get support, it's easy to do that in an urban environment, no one sort of knows that you're, you're going to talk to someone, but in a small town, everyone knows what everyone else is doing.

So, that can be a bit of a barrier.

So, it's one of those things that we need to be aware of. And I guess the other things that, you know, really come to mind, is the isolation in terms of geography.

It's a longer way to get support if it's required. It's a longer way to family in some cases. So that's really key.

I guess the other thing is there are fewer supports, but there are also more supports than people may be aware of.
So, it's certainly not that there's none, and I think that's really key to, to keep top of mind.

So, some of those other unique stresses that rural Queensland faces, I don't think anyone feels the brunt of droughts, floods, or bush fires like people do in a rural context.

So, they're unique pressures that people in the bush, will face.

And coming from that, we see financial uncertainty, and it's not just around those events, but it's also around the uncertain markets.

There's no, you know, set prices for most things.

So, we're navigating uncertain markets. We're also, you know, navigating climate that's been very variable.
And I mean, they're, they're sort of related to drought and flood as well.

But you know, particularly this industry is so reliant on the climate, so, you know, that has a unique pressure.

The other things that that really do face us in the agricultural industry is those multi-generational pressures.

Succession planning is a huge thing and can put real pressures on people about how we move on to the next generation and who gets what.

And it does put really big pressures on families, which, you know, we don't necessarily see that so much in an urban environment, but it's key in agriculture.

The other thing that we need to be aware of is often there's, there's multiple hats that people wear in communities.

So you might be, you know, the employer, you might be the coach of the workers, kid and a footy team.

But there's so many roles that people play and many, many hats that they wear, and they're really additional pressures as well.

So, we need to be aware of those. Some of the other things that,

I think this is where, some of the interests which I'm really glad to see, is that there has been some legislative changes.
So, we really have those obligations to look after workers mental health on the land and everywhere else.

But it's really recognising them in the context of, of keeping our workers safe.

I mean, we've always had that focus on, on physical safety, but it's also moving it into the realm of mental health as well, which is just as important.

And the key there is that, you know, we obviously have a duty of care for the people that work for us, and obviously that's an expectation that that's widely held.

And, I think is an important thing that has happened and it does promote that wellbeing in agriculture as well.

So, other reasons that psychosocial risk matters is that, look, individual wellbeing is key.

Obviously, it contributes to family and community wellbeing.

So, every everyone's mental health matters, and having them in a space where they're feeling good, able to get through the challenges of the day and get on with other people can only be a good thing for families and community.

The other thing is, it has some practical implications as well.

You know, a mentally healthy worker is also a more productive worker, also less likely to be involved in accidents, more safe.

So that, that's key as well.

And other things that really matter is that if we're supporting people's mental health in the sector, we all can also see an increase in staff retention.

And that's really important in small communities.

And there's obviously that flow on to broader community health.

So, they're really important things to focus on and deal with these risks.

So, some practical strategies to really help at the workplace level on the property.

Some things that really do help, are making sure that everyone knows what they're doing and what their role is.
So having clear roles and expectations and having these communicated.

And it's really, really key that we do this in a way that, you know, we provide it clearly and then we seek feedback, make sure everyone's on the same page, because when we've got a direction we're heading in, it's certainly much easier to deal with some of those stresses that come along if everyone knows what they're doing and what their role is.

And that communication's clear.

You know, often the other thing that comes up is, you know, obviously workloads are large in agriculture, but also managing them is really important.

And it's not just about, you know, managing the, you know, the weight that someone's carrying, which is important, but it's also giving people control over their workload because they've got that control, they've got the ability to carry it better.

So, it's really important that we manage it in that way in terms of the total load, but also giving people responsibility over what they need to do.

Because an interesting thing with stress, it's kind of, you know, it's kind of pressure, but then it's sort of divided by ability to make decisions around that as well.

So, it's key that we involve that.

The other thing that we want to make sure is that we're supporting our decision makers.

So, you know, with the larger pastoral companies, for example, they've got managers on each property and really making sure that they're supported to make the best decisions for their staff and property, and make sure that, you know, mental health and wellbeing are part of that to make sure the workforce is thriving.

And obviously a respectful workplace culture is key to that, that people are treated with respect at work.
And that's true across all realms.

But it's particularly important where people are living and working on the property, and it becomes a very, very large part of their life.

They're not going somewhere else, they're staying on property.

And obviously that respectful workplace culture goes a long way to supporting the wellbeing of workers.

Some other things that are really key that we want to make sure that we are really adhering to is just checking in with people.

So informal check-ins.

So, you know, going and seeing how people are going and, you know, making sure that they're noticed and making sure that their challenges are taken seriously.

And obviously just taking the temperature as often as you can, you know, often that's a, that's a key thing to meaningfully ask how someone's going.

Some other things that are really useful are some of that awareness training.

So, things like mental health first aid, for example.

So, increasing our ability to know what to do when we see someone's mental health going downhill, how do we support them?

Where do we send them, you know, they're key things.

Um, often there's, there's resources available as well, and if you can have them on the property, that makes a difference as well.

So, people might not necessarily always be comfortable talking to someone, but make sure that, you know, it's accessible in terms of what's available.

And we're going to go through a few of those a bit later on as well. Often a good thing you can do as well is just promoting local services.

So, you know, whatever's available in your local area, find out who they are and, what they offer and how you can access them and make sure your staff can do that.

Other things that are really useful, particularly if you're a larger organisation, EAP can be a really key support.

So, providing that short term support, that's very accessible. It's often by telehealth.

I guess the other thing that I'd really want to encourage you to do is realise that sometimes it feels like there's no support available where you are.

But that's not really the case. Certainly, through telehealth, there is service available.

And again, we'll touch on that a little bit further in the presentation, but again, it might not feel like there's much, but there's often more than we might realise.

Some of the other things that I think are key is, you know, building resilience at an individual level.

You know, a lot of the work that I do is obviously in the professional sphere, but we have to realise that, you know, most people get through the challenges of life with never talking to someone like me.

Most of the support comes from those people around them, and their own strategies.

So, when we are thinking about, you know, you putting in some stress management and coping strategies that might be, you know, something you've learned yourself through your life, or it might be something that's offered by a professional, or it might be someone from, you know, friend or colleague, something that's really, really helped them deal with pressure at different times.

The other thing I'd say is, look, if, anyone's going downhill with their mental health, encouraging early help seeking is really, really key.

And for a simple reason, you know, the deeper you get into the hole, the harder it is to get out of.

So, it's really key that we get in as early as we possibly can.

And look, this is a challenge in rural Queensland, which is that people wait way too long to get mental health support.

And what that means is that things get worse, before they get help, and it's really unnecessary.

So, the sooner we get in, the better.

And the other thing I'd always encourage is really normalising those conversations about mental health.

And I think we've made, you know, large strides in this area, but it's really important that we talk about, you know, how are we going and how we're getting through our days, and if our mental health's going downhill, that we're able to talk about it openly.

So, one of the other things I think is really, really key, and we we're just going to touch on this, you know, quite quickly, but the idea of providing support, as I've just mentioned earlier, is that really, we are each other's main first line of support.

So, the people we work with, the people we live with, our family, our friends, they're our, our key supports and we are theirs.

So, some of the things we want to keep in mind is that we want to make sure that we're really noticing what's happening around us is if someone is having trouble sleeping all of a sudden, or they're off their food or they're just really moody.
So really pay attention and know what's going on.

And if you've got a bit of a red flag, really take note what that is, then take a bit of time, think about, okay, how are you going to have this conversation?

Where are you going to have this conversation?

Go into that conversation with a little bit of a plan.

Look, it doesn't need to be well thought out. You don't need to have all the right words.

You know, often one of the things I'd often say is that, you know, you might be worried that, you know, there might be a crisis and you don't know what to do.

There's always another line of support.

So, remembering that, you know, if it goes in a direction where you're not really quite sure what to do, there might be a crisis.

And you do need to sort of keep that in mind.

If you're in mobile range or in phone range, you've got the option of calling any of these numbers.

So again, you know, the emergency services, if there's a, there's an absolute emergency happening or you're not quite sure on what to do next, obviously one 1300 MH call, which is the access to all the public health services in Queensland or mental health services.

And what that'll do is that'll actually locate the closest service to you, the closest public health service, to you.

And we'll actually link you in with a person from that centre.

Now, that might be some distance away, depending on where you are, but you can get that advice.

And the one that I always promote is lifeline. Always have that in your phone, I'd say, because you'll never know whether you'll need it for yourself or someone near you.

It works Australia wide, and that's just that 13 11 14 24 hour crisis support.

And maybe you don't know what to do, and yet you can have that conversation with someone and say, I'm not really sure what to do here.

Maybe we need to call someone and you make it about you.

I'm not sure what to do. Let's make the call to someone who might, you know, give us advice on what to do next.

So, that's really key as well.

So having those lines is really important.

So, other things that we'd say is that, you know, the key thing here is to listen, to understand, spend some time listening, understanding where the person's coming from, and maybe that's enough.

And, you know, maybe you might actually be able to provide some support or advice, and what, what should that be?

It might be just, you know, visiting the local GP. But even just listening might be enough.

And the other key thing is just make sure if you can be available for follow up.

You know, maybe the person's not able to talk right now or is not really in the mood, but just let them know if they want to have that chat.

You are, you know, you're interested in what's happening for them, and then you're there to help.

And obviously that's a cycle that we go through.

But just keeping that sort of front of mind.

Other things that I'd really emphasise is that if you're concerned about your own mental health or mental health of someone that you're really close to or work with, look, your local GP is a really great place to start.

There's no hard or fast rule on whether you might be feeling even depressed, for example, but it might be a physical health condition.

So, checking in with your GP is a great place to start, but it also means that they've also got referral options.

So, they, you know, often, particularly if you know the GP and you've got that relationship previously, they might be able to link you in with a good fit for who you are, and who the therapist is.

So, link you in with a with a good service and a GP is a great place to start.

So, if you've got a GP and you've got concerns about mental health, talk to them about it.

It's really, really key. And often people sort of gloss over it.

Some other things. Look, I'd really like to just, if anyone watching this does want, some practical advice in a magazine form.

We've got the Mental health and wellbeing on the land handbook. So, the contact details there on the page, if anyone's interested in getting that, we're certainly happy to send that out to any property in Queensland.

And really, what that's got is it's got a practical guide to many of the common things that people face with mental health on the land.

But it also gives you a lot of services that are available both online and in person.

So, I really encourage you, if you're interested in having that on your property to let us know and we'll send one out to you.

It's absolutely at no cost, but it's really about making sure that people on the land have access to mental health and wellbeing services.

So really, really useful to have that on the property.

If you haven't got it just contact us and we'll send you a copy out.

It's a really great resource.

The other thing I think just to mention is that, you know, building resilience is really key.

You know, our family, friends and workmates are our front line of support, and the more we know about supporting each other, the stronger we are together and strengthening those local connections is really, really important.

And community wellbeing is obviously key.

You know, communities that stick together deal with situations like natural disaster so much better.

There's so many examples of how important that community-wide connection is in supporting individual and family wellbeing.

So, that's really important that we do stay connected.

I think I'm running a little bit short on time here, so in terms of other things just to mention quickly, what I've seen in my work in terms of what's worked, you know, key things with those peer networks, shared resources, you know, working across, industries that might be with AgForce, that it might be with, you know, people working for the department of Ag but really pulling together to make sure that we are providing support across the board.

And I guess the key thing in here, when we're looking for any kind of response, we're always stronger together.
And some of those networks are key.

And it's not just a mental health workforce.

It's people in all areas of the industry, which are key to making sure that we, you know, improve the mental health and wellbeing of people working in agriculture.

And we do what we can about those psychosocial risks at really reducing or eliminating them.

So, some of those key takeaways, look, psychosocial hazards are genuine risks.

And these are intensified by some of those challenges in a rural environment.

Obviously, we want to really focus on prevention and, really support and strengthen agribusiness.

I mean, the key thing is mentally healthy workers are the most productive workers, and we'll get the most out of people working in agriculture if we support that.

Obviously, you know, the goal is individuals and families living as good a life as we can, mental and physical health, in their prime is obviously the goal, resilient.

And the other thing I'd always mention here is that, you know, I often talk about mental health service because that's my background, but my support actually comes from the community around us.

And it's really important that we emphasise that importance of connection with community and, make sure that you're still turning up to see people if you're having a hard time and you're still making connections with people if they are.

So, really key to that as well. So, thank you very much for your time today.

It's been a pleasure speaking to you. And, we'll hand back over to Bomber.

Thanks for your time.

Thank you Tim, for delivering practical insights into the unique pressures faced by primary producers and those working in the agricultural industry and the practical tips to support positive mental wellbeing for ourselves and for those we work with and engage with in the community.

Don't forget, if you've got a question for Dr. Tim, use the chat box, get it to us ASAP, and we'll talk to Dr. Tim about some of these questions.

First one I can see here is from Nick from Central Queensland.

Nick asks, we're a pretty small operation, just a couple of us really, what would be one or two simple things we could do to support each other better or reduce stress?

I think one of the key things that you really want to focus on there, Nick, is the, the communication piece.

So being, you know, really open with the person that you're working with.

You might well be living with them as well in this example.

But certainly focusing on open communication and making sure that, you know, each person is really heard by the other person.

And a good way of doing that is really being able to repeat back, I guess, what the person said and get them to agree.

So, I guess an easy way of doing that is, you know, making sure that you're understanding where they're coming from, because one of the things that people love is actually being listened to.

And sometimes you haven't got all the solutions for the things that you're facing, but having really open quality communication focused on really listening to understand is key.

And if you can come to some sort of joint understanding of things, they get much smaller and you get an ability to come up with a plan together.

So, that's the other thing I'd really focus on.

And the other thing I'd say is, you know, make sure you talk, you can get a little bit of time apart occasionally as well, so kind of the opposite, but you kind of need to do a little bit of both.

So good communication, but make sure you've got a bit of your own life as well, is what I'd say.

Thanks for the question.

I've got another one, Tim from Nick.

There's been a lot of tough seasons lately.

Do you have any advice on how we can build up that resilience you talked about in your presentation, especially when it feels like things just keep coming at us, you know, you, you're taking two steps forward and three steps back.

So, a bit of advice on that.

Yeah, look, I think the key thing to remember is really the basics here.

So, some of the basics of dealing with a situation where the pressure is really on is actually going back to basics.

You know, making sure that you're eating well, you know, you're getting some exercise, you're focusing on sleep, making sure you're keeping those social connections up, particularly when you don't feel like doing that.

Also, you know, knowing where you're headed. So having a bit of a goal is really key as well.

So those basic things that keep us well in good and bad times are really important to focus on.

And look, if you're feeling things are really getting on top of you, it is good to put a plan down on paper.

You know, if you're not quite sure what to do next, you know, it gets it out of your head.

And if you can put it into a calendar even better, because what it means is that you've got a plan that's out of your head and you've got something to follow.

And what you can actually find there often is that a lot of the feeling of pressure sort of lifts when you've got a plan out of it.

And that can be, you know, that can be a struggle at times, but it's really, really useful.

It gives you a way out and it gives you a sense that it's not just sitting in your head and you're not sitting in that hole.

So, you know, there's a lot of really challenging times in agriculture and you know, people have got through a lot of them so far.

So, they're my basic takeaways, focus on the basics, and get a plan if you can.

That's really key.

Thanks, Tim. Thanks Nick for your questions.

Thank you for all your questions in the audience.

If there are any further questions you have, please continue to leave them in the chat box during the panel discussion.

Which brings me to the panel. Let's introduce the panel members.

First up is Ruth Thompson and Jasmine Smith.

Ruth grew up on a mixed farming operation in central west, New South Wales, and now resides in southeast Queensland.

Her passion for agriculture has led her to diverse roles, including agronomy, territory manager with New Farm and projects and installations manager with Clip Stockyards.

She is currently Policy Director at AgForce Queensland, where she drives positive change across the grains, commodity workforce and safety, telecommunications and social policy.

A very busy woman, Jasmine Smith is a Project Manager at the Queensland Farmers Federation, where she leads workforce development and training initiatives through Smart Ag Queensland.

Jasmine has delivered innovative solutions tailored to Queensland's agriculture industry, overseeing programs such as cotton picker operator training, advanced spray training, and bespoke business training alongside regular safety training.
These initiatives have enabled over 3,000 Queensland farmers to access quality training over the last 18 months.

Thanks to the panel members for joining us, the three wise people, as we call them.

Let's get to our questions, first and foremost, look, the first of our questions, would be, to you Tim, you can take it up.

Distance is a problem, and remoteness and just the sheer size of Queensland, how do we overcome physical distance just to ease us into the panel discussion?

Yeah, look, in terms of physical distance, you know, in many ways it's a challenge, but I mean, you know, recent advances in technology have been incredibly powerful in this space.

In terms of connectivity, I think you've got amazing connection in terms of, I mean, even in terms of what internets available now, high speed internets available in places where it never could have been previously.

So, I think that's really opened up the ability for quality telehealth.

And, you know, particularly with a video link where people sort of feel like you, they're almost sitting in the room with you, I mean it's, you know, it's probably not quite the same as face-to-face.

I think, you know, we're always going to need a blend of both.

But certainly, you know, technology has certainly bridged the distance in terms of our ability to deliver telehealth.

And look, many people still prefer, you know, a phone call, because it can be a bit confrontational sometimes the first time that someone, well, it's not confrontational, it's the wrong way to say it, can feel that way when people think about making the call.

But often people still, you know, like using a telephone and that’s still really, really useful.

We get a lot out of that.

But I think the ability for telehealth is only improving, and it's pretty good now.

So, I think there's been a big improvement in our ability to bridge that distance.

I think also traveling in remote communities is key as well.

You know, we still really value face-to-face service, and we certainly, you know, fly and drive people through most of really remote Queensland, certainly.

So, people do get some face-to-face service and that's fairly regularly, like most of the towns that we go to at least have sort of fortnightly face-to-face service.

And I think that's a really important part of the mix, but, you know, technology is key to bridging that distance too.
Well, let's move on to the code of practice and risk factors in agricultural work.

And a question for you, Ruth.

What are some effective strategies that you've seen that help reduce the risk of poor mental health linked to remote and isolated work?

Again, that's probably a follow on from what we've just asked, Tim.

There is distance to be covered.

There's a lot of travel, you spend hours perhaps, you know, in a ute or in a truck traveling by yourself.

Yeah, absolutely. So, one of the biggest things that we find in the broad acre industry, is the isolation component.

The code of practice actually references that and gives you some really handy hints  and tips around things that you can do to sort of circumnavigate some of that isolation that people feel.

And also the fatigue factor.

Fatigue is a really big player in broad acre agriculture.

And why we often feel overwhelmed is we're not getting enough sleep.

We've got a lot on our plate all at once.

We have the tyranny of distance, so you can't just stuck home.

This is, you know, often a couple hours drive to where you need to be.

So, the code of practice does a really good job in highlighting and giving some suggestions around what people can potentially do to circumnavigate some of that.

Let's move on to Jasmine, and we welcome you to the panel discussion.

What have you observed that works well in managing the impact of physically risky, environments in harsh agricultural areas like extreme weather, working with animals or seasonal peak demands, and what they can do, and the effect they can have on mental health.

Are there any control measures you've seen that have worked effectively to decrease the risk of harm to workers?

Yeah, I think, first off, I just want to say incredible presentation, Tim, and I think he really hit a lot of the key points that we're all going to touch on, but it doesn't hurt to say it twice.

For me, as you heard in my bio, I'm big on training. I help a lot of people get training.

I think that training is underutilised when it comes to preventing some of these accidents happening and preparing your workforce.

It's not a shock when these stressful times come.

So, I think as Tim's touched on communication, preparing your team, being honest about what's to come, having clear expectations, and I think that's what training can really help with.

And two major things for that specific question around unique scenarios and stresses is role clarity and cross training so that multiple people can do the same job to relieve some of that fatigue pressure.

That's probably my two biggest recommendations.

Let's move on to you, Tim. Financial pressures. We know how burdening and how impactful they can be.

What are some ways people can prepare or look after their mental health when facing these really tough decisions and tough times?

Yeah, absolutely. And it's a huge stress, the financial stress.

I guess the, you know, the thing that you, you want to focus on there is actually the practical to start with.

You know, that's really key there, there's no way of thinking your way out of a financial problem without actually talking to either a banker or a financial person.

And the key thing there is that you do want to take practical steps and I think that, you know, there's two ways of coping with a challenging situation and in broad terms, you've got sort of the problem focus coping, so doing something about the issue.

And then you've got the emotion focus, which is really focused on, you know, dealing with the feelings that come along with it.

And out of those two, obviously you combine them, yet you do the best.

But in terms of getting out of the, the situation, you really do need to focus on the problem, and taking practical steps and that, might be a longer term plan, but having a plan to back to, you know, financial security is really key.

But having a plan that you can follow.

And, you know, one of the examples I gave earlier was, you know, using a, a calendar to do that.

But you know, you obviously want to, you want to get advice, you want to take practical steps and, the key thing is if you feel like you're taking practical steps forward, that pressure's going to lighten a lot.

And that's key. And I mean, the other thing about it is that you also want to make sure you're taking breaks from it.

So, you're absolutely, you know, not a hundred percent focused on this financial problem all of the hours of the day.

And you're making sure you do those things that actually keep you well, particularly when you're under pressure, when it's key.

Because one of the first things we do when we go to high pressure situations is we eat junk food, stop exercising and stop talking to people.

So do the opposite of that is what I'd say is that, you know, make sure you're doing those things that keep you well, which is particularly important when times are more stressful.

You know, your engine's running hard, look after it.

And you forgot to say, we watch sad movies during that period as well.

So look, let's move on to unpacking some simple but effective practical actions to recognise and respond to mental health needs.

Jasmine, you are first up, what are some real life examples you've seen where support provided within an agricultural workplace made a genuine difference?

It really did help out.

Yeah. Thanks Chris. I think something that Tim spoke to earlier as well is this can't happen overnight.

You have to do the groundwork of establishing a workplace that is supportive of people's mental health, whether that's through safe work practices or regular check-ins, anything like that.

Being prepared then sets you up to handle a crisis or an accident.

Well, and there's two quick scenarios, or real stories, not scenarios that I want to run you through.

One was just an accident hitting a power line.

Now this happened, guy was pretty distressed, called the boss.

The boss was instantly on site, calm, sorted it out, prioritised that worker's wellbeing.

That's always step one. It doesn't matter, it's just stuff.

That stuff might be expensive, but it can be replaced.

You've got to make sure that the guy's all right, first and foremost.

Then they sent everyone home, called it a day, it was already late.

Anyway, next day, brought the whole team together, revisited some safety training around dealing with operating gear near power lines to empower everyone to feel like they could go back out into the field, understand what went wrong, and make sure it doesn't happen to them.

Gave everyone space to debrief, alleviated blame, everyone carried on hunky dory.

It was one day out of the harvest rather than residual resentment, and these carry on feelings of blame or anything.

Another scenario I know about is where there was actually a death in a workplace.

Now, there were two people involved in the accident.

One guy passed away, one guy didn't. Now that is a rife situation for there to be mental health issues to arise after the fact.

Now this workplace immediately brought in a third party to help them transition both themselves and their staff forward to understand what had happened, to unpack those complex emotions and to move forward safely and securely.

Now, both of those scenarios could have played out and we know have played out very differently.

If you've not put in the groundwork to be a safe and supportive workplace, it feels like a lot of work in the beginning.

But if you do that initial prep work and you continue to enact that, it pays dividends when something does, hopefully not, but if something does go wrong on your farm.

Tim, let's go to you, let's take up this scenario.

Someone's tried to get support, but has found the service, didn't quite feel right for them.

What would you recommend?

Yeah, that's a great question and it's certainly not an unusual experience.

And I guess the thing I say to people is that, you know, if you took your car to a mechanic and they did a crap job, would you never take your car back to a mechanic again?

And it's the same sort of thing.

Or you could use a hairdresser in the same example, you're never going to get your hair cut again.

But again, look, not everyone is going to be the right fit to talk to, and that's absolutely something that happens.

And I think the key thing there is that realise that early and go, well, okay, this is not a good fit for me.

Find someone else. I mean, there's, you know, there's certainly telehealth available.

You know, find someone that does work for you because not every therapist is going to be the right therapist, and it's really not a great plan to keep pushing on with the same person if you don't sort of feel like you're getting what you need out of that interaction or that therapy.

And the funny thing about it is that, you know, the research on it's pretty clear is it says that, you know, if you go to another therapist, you've got equally as much chance of getting a really good outcome, even if you've got a bad one from the last one in terms of it didn't work for you.

So, find the right fit and realise that not every therapist is the right fit, and just treat it like a mechanic.

Go and find another one if you're not getting the service you need.

So try again, I guess is the advice.

Let's move on to stories from the field lived experience, you guys are out there dealing with it day to day, just from your personal experience growing up on the farm or from your professional industry lives, let's dive into how you can help people or examples of what has helped people in the past.

First up, can you share a story or example that shows the importance of recognising poor mental health signs early?
We haven't heard from you for a while, Ruth, let's go over there.

Thanks, Chris. I think the number one thing that we can do as employers and employees, it works both ways, is having conversations, having that rapport, understanding who you're working with, understanding who they are as people, and making sure that we are having those conversations.

It's amazing how quickly if you can nip something in the bud early on, and things don't fester, how quickly things can be resolved before they become an issue.

I know particularly in the broad acre space, we have a lot of situational stresses.

So, this isn't necessarily a mental health issue, it's not someone with severe depression or anxiety issues.

These are situational stresses that happen to us every day. It can be floods, it can be drought, it can be fire.

And we all have to sort of burden ourselves with what that means on property.

Often in drought, you know, there's a lot of, euthanising, livestock.

You know, if we have significant floods, it's carcass recovery.

If we are having droughts, it's just wishing and praying for it to rain and how we can manage that.

So, we often talk about just getting away, taking a break.

It's amazing how two or three days away from farm can actually reinvigorate you in the middle of a drought when you haven't seen rain for years.

Just going to the ocean and looking at it is incredibly beneficial for people.

Making sure you understand what your workers,  what makes them tick, what's important to them.

It could be they want to go off to the camp draft for the weekend, facilitate it, make it happen, whatever we can do to support those people, because agriculture is one of the last industries where it's about the people.

And we've got to be able to support that and support them and make sure that we're keeping all of the really good talent that we've got within industry.

Tim, what about for you, a good news, positive outcome that you've seen from individuals, or a community or an organisation, you know, that's enhanced their mental wellbeing of their staff, friends, colleagues, whatever it might be?

I think probably the most positive change that I've noticed over the last number of years has been certainly men in particular being more willing to talk about mental health.

And I think that's been a real shift.

And I think there's been, you know, a number of drivers behind that.

But I think that is really, really key because, you know, that's where most of the support comes from, is the people immediately around us.

And if people are, you know, comfortable to have those mental health conversations, we're at a much better point to look after each other if, you know, if you're able to talk about it.

And certainly, we've seen a huge improvement.

I mean, I think women have always been a bit better at this than men, and I think they still are.

But there's been a big improvement in men being able to talk about mental health. And I think that's a really good point to be at because it's, you know, if we can talk about it, then we can do something about it.

What about for you, Jasmine?

A good news story, something that you have come across during your time, your professional life?

I think more than, we're not good at telling the good stories generally, but I think we need to be better at that.

And I think for me, it's not so much hearing a story where a farmer goes, oh, I implemented this strategy and this was the outcome, but it's going on farm and feeling that that good culture and that energy and that happiness.

And I think that comes for me.

I hear a lot of stories at least about that coming from being really connected with your communities and really dialled in to what's going on around you, and whether that's industry bodies, whether that's the local footy group, whether that's just, if you've got a big team doing fun things together.

And I think I've heard a lot of stories about little things happening that were handled and nipped in the bud before they could grow because of positive work cultures.

And I just think we cannot emphasise enough how important it is to be dialled into your community.

And whether that's reaching out for actual services or whether it's just chatting to a mate, we see mental health as this big scary thing.

It's this big, big beast, but it shrinks every time you just have a nice chat with someone, even if it's not about mental health.

And for me, that's what's really resonated with me and made me feel happy about the way this industry's heading, is seeing people just a little bit with a little bit more of a pep in their step every day rather than after a major event.

Let's go back down the other way to this panel and follow up from that.

Can you, as a professional, can you feel a vibe?

Can you sense something when you step onto a property, when you move into an organisation, can you feel that?

And if you do and it's a, a negative, what do you do?

What can you subtly do to get something moving towards a positive state?

So, I guess what you're talking about there is about a workplace culture. Is that what...

Yeah, you get a feel, you get a vibe, a sense.

Absolutely. Well, you do absolutely get a sense of a workplace culture, but you also probably get it hits you in the face as well.

So, look I guess you've, and I think the other panellists will speak better this than I will.

I jumped in for some unknown reason.

But look, I guess, you know, you've got to demonstrate through the way that you interact with people is key.

You know, call out what you've noticed, and, you know, do that in a delicate but honest way.

And actually, you know, actually talk to what you're actually seeing because one of the things that can make a huge difference just by itself is actually just pointing out what you're noticing.

And, maybe there's some advice there to give, but you know, and that there are practical strategies.

Sometimes it's training, which can be really, really valuable.

But you also need that buy-in as well, obviously from everyone involved to make sure its sort of, you know, that training then has traction and I really should hand over to someone who knows much more. Yeah, no, Let's go to Ruth.

Queue Ruth.

Look. You can definitely pick up on a vibe. Yeah.

And, one of the things that is really important about workplace culture is that everyone's responsible for it.

So, workplace culture, it's not just fed from the top down or it's the bottom up.

It's everyone working is a team.

And, some of the best workplaces you go into are always the ones that have really clear and open communication, respectful communication.

But, nonetheless, really clear and succinct.

Us farmers aren't very good at learning new skills. Sometimes it takes us a little while, you know, you drag us kicking and screaming, but we definitely get there.

And we're in a really unique position in agriculture where we don't have much opportunity but to develop this skillset of looking after our people.

And, when we say looking after our people, often these are our own kids or our parents, or our brothers and our sisters and we're trying to recruit, you know, a lot of people from urban environments who have never worked in agriculture before.

And, you know, we always joke around particularly, you can always pick the kids who have had to hold the torch for dad while he fixes the tractor.

That's not something that a lot of these urban kids have had that are coming into industry, that resilience building.

So, it might seem a little bit softly, softly to us in the beginning, but that workplace culture and developing that and making sure everyone is on the journey together and we can learn from each other is an incredibly valuable thing.

And all of the really good operators acknowledge that.

So, they know that they don't have all the answers, but they're willing to listen to new people to come into industry.
I just want to go one further from, from there as a sense of community and a sense of belonging.

How can we city slickers help those in the bush?

You know, decision makers, particularly, I see a lot of race meetings, you know, picnic race meetings are closing, race tracks are being closed down.

A lot harder for community groups to come together.

Yeah, we can all catch up with each other over the web or the internet or whatever, but that community, how can we keep maintaining that and make sure it exists?

Because they are no doubt still very important to the people on the land.

Yeah. Very, very important.

Face to face is just, you just can't beat it.

And, one thing, you know, I could talk all day in regard to agricultural policy where we need to be from a social policy point of view as well.

But we want to see investment in rural communities.

We need people to move to the bush.

We need people to have flexible working arrangements.

So really big corporations and entities and government departments have the capacity to put their people in rural areas as well.

People are the lifeblood of these towns.

If we don't have the people, none of those things happen.

And, we also have a really strong sense of volunteering in the bush.

I think, you know, I work for AgForce, but I sit on a number of other boards.

My local show society. There's a whole heap of things that happen.

It could be camp draft your, your race meet, as you mentioned.

But we need people and policy makers need to be able to acknowledge or find a way to facilitate ensuring that there's that migration of people into the bush as well.

So, the jams and the scones are still important in the book.

Oh, look, the CWA ladies will never be out of a job.

Alright, let's get to a serious topic.

And we've spoken about a number.

Let's move on to communities rallying, and supporting one another following a traumatic event, a death.

You've touched on it, Jasmine.

It's over to the other two, policy, panel members.

What's helped during these times?

How can we bring them together?

What's your advice if, you know, we do face these times?

You gave us a fairly specific example.

You guys, you're out in the field. Who wants to go first? Look at it?

Would you like me to roll Tim?

I think one thing that we need to acknowledge is that people in the bush are incredibly resilient.

And we know what we need.

So, when we ask for something specific, it's not just because we are making it up as we go along.

We genuinely are pretty direct with what we need.

There has been some really good government responses of late, you know, we had the floods out west.

Not so long ago. And that was quite a good government response.

And as always, there's always things that we can do better.

So, AgForce obviously helps facilitate that process of providing that feedback through to government as well.

But that's the number one thing.

We'll ask for what we need.

And if we're asking for it, it's because we genuinely need it.

You know, roads need to be repaired.

There's a whole heap of things that come along with our infrastructure.

And particularly we find, you know, we are talking about support services, particularly for health and mental health and wellbeing.

Yes, there is obviously telehealth services, but to get that you need good connectivity.

And then we start down the whole spiral of what, telecommunication services are available.

And again, wonderful to have.

And this new age of technology is brilliant, but we still really enjoy the face-to-face connection that we get and having that rapport.

Can I take that one step further?

A number of years ago our family was involved in a food and water drive when the droughts were really severe out west and we went to Texas.

We stayed overnight, we stayed the weekend.

The publican was very pleased we were there.

People were just happy to see that people in the city cared and genuinely wanted to help.

And the mere fact that we were there and we were able to talk to people, to the locals, support the local pub, support the local grocer Because we bought things and left it behind and that sort of stuff.

How important is that? Just, you know, from a sense of you're not alone in this journey.

Small towns always love visitors.

Go and see the local barber or hairdresser.

I think that we've got to approach this with some delicacy though.

If you're in the middle of a natural disaster, please don't go and visit.

As much as you would love to think that you're supporting people, we also need space to recover and repair.

And we don't have the infrastructure to be able to look after you.

But when you're on the recovery journey, we really appreciate that return to town.

And yeah, like you said, go and have a couple of counter meals at the pub.

Go to the local hairdresser, support the local businesses, the post office, go buy some souvenirs, do something.

And everyone in the bush really appreciates that.

Tim. Yeah.

Look, I think just extending on that, yeah, it's all about supporting what's already there.

You know that's the key thing.

And also listening to the people on the ground that know what's needed, you know, that's key.

I've been involved in a few natural disasters in my time and really the thing that has determined, you know, how well a community's pulled through is really what's there already.

So really, you know, supporting and listening to local communities and groups about what's needed is, really important.

And, you know, some of those external things that come in are really important.

But again, the thing that pulls the community through a hard time is the community itself.

So, what we can do to support that is key.

I'll just jump in as well, quickly. Yeah.

Got an example from what these two have just spoken about.

With QFF, we had industry recovery and resilience officers for a little while, and that helps with that recovery and resilience from natural disasters.

And, they did this really cool thing where they'd spent all this time with the growers helping them recover and implement plans and all of that.

And they'd learn so much about what growers actually need in those times of crisis.

And the delicacy, you've touched on Ruth with handling it properly.

And they then put that together into a workshop and they delivered that to all the extension officers, all of the volunteers that are wanting to go out, all of this sort of thing.

And, really helped them understand how to enter that space with care and consideration, how to deliver what they actually needed.

And I think it's such a cool example to me of taking what we learn on the ground and sharing that, being that conduit between the ground, between the growers and the city slickers as Chris says.

And, you know, really helping to bridge that gap and taking that pressure away from the growers, having to communicate that they've communicated at once, they don't need to do it again and again and again.

And I think that's where we as industry can really help and why it's just so vital to be connected to your communities as much as possible, because that helps soothe those times.

Let's move to this question.

We hear a lot about consultation being important, whether you're in a large operation or a small family run farm.

Are there any examples or stories where talking to workers made a real difference?

I think Ruth, this one's for you.

Thanks, Chris. Yeah, look, consultation is always key because, we're all human beings and we're all a little bit different, right?

So, what works for one doesn't work for the other.

And this is where those really important conversations come into play.

I think from a big operations point of view, they always love just a piece of paper, you know, a piece of paper that says something, so they can tick a box or, you know, provide some sort of support in a quite a formatted process.

Unfortunately, we're not formatted human beings, so, we do like to, you need to have agility in how you're doing things.

We think it's important to have, you know, some level of policy and process around things, but nothing actually beats that workplace culture of having those conversations.

So, it would be easy to just have one thing that you go to, but unfortunately, we're going to have to have conversations with everybody that comes in and out of our business, what works for them, what motivates them, anything that could particularly be a trigger for them.

I know, for instance, we often have to, you know, destroy livestock and those sorts of things.

We have these people that come out from urban areas who would just not be able to mentally cope with some of those sorts of situations.

And, you know, even myself, who's come from the land and spent a whole life on properties, that's even a really tough gig for me to have to manage.

So, you know, we've got to understand what each person is capable of doing and not pushing them past that.

Obviously, there's a level of what we need to do to be productive if they're all of a sudden saying that, you know, oh, the sun's a bit hot and I'm not mentally coping with the heat.

Well you shouldn't have taken a job on the station in north Queensland.

So, there's a couple of realities of operating as well.

So, I think the number one takeaway for a lot of farm owners and business owners is it's got to be reasonable.

Okay, we can all ask for the universe, but you're probably not going to get it.

But what's reasonably practical for us to do as business managers and as business owners, and how can we help, you know, foster these people, ensure that they're in a safe workplace, both physically and psychologically, but also managing that with the realities and practicalities of what we do.

And there are consultants and professionals that can help with that.

Like services that you can access to help you implement that in your business.

If you are like, where would I even start? Reach out. We'll happily connect you with someone, but there are people who will help you in that journey as well.

Yeah. And there's, you know, three organisations here today that can help you with those sorts of things too.

You know, QFF, AgForce, RFDS, we're all in this space and we are all here to help primary producers in Queensland, which is probably a good way to wrap up for our last question.

Jasmine or Tim? Either or both.

There's often a perception that mental health services only show up during a crisis only when it's just a dire emergency.

Can you share evidence or examples that support is always available year round regardless of season or situation?

Look, I think I understand where that comes from.

You know, particularly when you'll see a, you know, a large response to a particular event.

But I guess the thing is that there are services available, you know, always really.

I mean, for example, in, in most of remote Queensland, we've got face-to-face services available through RFDS, for example.

And we're certainly not the only service that that does that and provides really quality service to small communities.

I guess the, you know, the thing that people will see is that there is that revamp that bit of a ramp up, you'll see when something terrible happens or a natural disaster or other terrible event.

But realistically, you know, a lot of that might be, you know, visibility as well because there is a lot of promotion around that.

But look, most areas will have access to some mental health support that's there certainly, you know, through the year.

I think sometimes, you know, people underestimate how much there is.

But you know, if you talk to a GP in a small community, they'll certainly be able to direct you to what's available.

So, there's certainly is available service through the year.

And often, you know, when things happen there, there needs to be that ramp up of service.

But again, wherever you are, you know, you might need to try a bit harder to get service if you're in a remote area, but it is available and I'd certainly encourage you to use it.

Thanks guys. A reminder, of course, if you experience discomfort or feel overwhelmed by the information in today's webinar, free support is available.

You can find help in the support services, of course, in the chat.

A huge thank you to our speakers today.

As time has got away from us, Dr. Tim Driscoll and our panellists, Ruth Thompson, and of course Jasmine Smith, and to you, our attendees for joining us.

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