Network focusses on social support

Some women may be returning to sheds or calf rearing barns after not working onfarm in the recent past, she says. Some farms have had to let staff go.

Although the “penny has dropped” on how difficult the season will be, members now have their heads down for calving.

“In the next few months DWN will focus on social and supportive events to get people off-farm to talk to one another and form those effective rural communities that we know are more resilient at times like this,” she says.

Through the calving period social days are held – sometimes called Moo Moans – where members meet with other women away from the farm. 

“Often it’s at the local café, with a cup of coffee and a muffin, and you get off-farm and have the opportunity to talk to other women who are facing the same daily challenges At times it is just what one needs.”

For a number of months people had realised that the season will be tough but after the recent pay out announcements “the penny has really dropped”, de Villiers says. 

“There is a huge realisation in the dairy industry that this is significant and probably prolonged.   

“Depending on where you are in the dairy industry you might be impacted differently. If you are at the start of your career, when you have to invest and take decisions that are a bit more risky, you will be higher geared. This is a factor of where you are in your career, not necessarily due to your risk profile.

“Highly geared young farmers will be really impacted. Other farmers have been in the dairy industry for a long time and have seen this before and so they are probably more equipped to deal with it.”

While DWN is a big organisation (7000+ members) it doesn’t have a huge amount of surplus funding, says de Villiers. 

“So our response to the difficult times farmers are currently facing is more  grassroots networking, supporting connected communities, providing people with the opportunities  to meet up, supporting each other, talking to each other… that is what connected rural communities are all about.

“We are putting our weight fully behind Farming in Tight Times (DairyNZ), the Farmstrong campaign (FMG) and other initiatives  geared to supporting farmers.”

DWN will offer training on budgets, starting in October.

Farmers now have their heads down for a few weeks doing calving, says de Villiers.

“They will come up for breath in October and will need to look at budgets. We will roll out training on budgets, such as  understanding  the financial impact of the volatile pay-out environment on their farm profitability and financial position and implementing practical timelytimely steps to ride out the tough times. 

In October DWN will train its volunteers to help support members.  Pressure on some women to return to onfarm work will diminish their time available for volunteer work, and this will affect DWN, de Villiers acknowledges.