Rural Support Trust dinner raises $300,000
A fundraiser dinner held in conjunction with Fieldays raised over $300,000 for the Rural Support Trust.
Perhaps the biggest hinderance to farmers' wellbeing is their lack of social life, says former police crisis negotiator Lance Burdett, who has begun his tour of the South Island to encourage wellness.
Social life, exercise and sleep are the three things that keep all of us well, he says.
He says for farmers, exercise is pretty well covered by the daily running of the farm, but a lack of social life has the most impact on rural wellbeing.
Burdett, a former crisis negotiator with 22 years experience working with police – and the military, emergency services, prisons and the FBI – now runs a consultancy called WARN (wellness, awareness, resilience and negotiation). It provides tips and techniques for people to handle difficult situations by understanding what goes on in their’s and others’ brains.
Burdett will share his message in a speaking tour of 16 South Island rural centres arranged by the regional Rural Support Trusts with support from MPI.
He says there are two ways to “get things out of your head” – one is to speak and the other is to write. But for farmers the biggest problem may be isolation and not talking.
Burdett’s speaking tour will include three different programmes for various audiences: Rural Support Trust’s own people on how best to engage with their clients, a second for merchants and others who deal with farmers, and the third for farmers themselves.
The three-week tour starts in Timaru and Fairlie on May 6. It follows a successful tour of Central North Island regions last year. The full schedule is on the Rural Support website.
Profitability issues facing arable farmers are the same across the world, says New Zealand's special agricultural trade envoy Hamish Marr.
Over 85% of Fonterra farmer suppliers will be eligible for customer funding up to $1,500 for solutions designed to drive on-farm efficiency gains and reduce emissions intensity.
Tighter beef and lamb production globally have worked to the advantage of NZ, according to the Meat Industry Association (MIA).
Groundswell is ramping up its 'Quit Paris' campaign with signs going up all over the country.
Some farmers in the Nelson region are facing up to five years of hard work to repair their damaged properties caused by the recent devastating floods.
Federated Farmers is joining major industry-good bodies in not advocating for the Government to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.
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