The toughest time!

Zonderop, chair of Federated Farmers Waikato dairy section, believes farmers have had to "use every trick in the book" to get through and this has been taking a toll on the mental health of many.

He isn't surprised that Rural Support Trust has been fielding more calls from farmers around mental health and wellbeing.

Cyclones, flooding, flattened trees, low payout, soaring interest rates, high input costs and feed shortage have piled misery on dairying.

Zonderop's system one farm in Te Poi hasn't been spared. On the 140ha farm, Cyclone Gabrielle destroyed 10% of his maize crops. The farmer next door fared worse - his entire maize crop was flattened. Meanwhile, Zonderop's bank plan interest rate jumped from 3.5% to nearly 11%.

"There's no doubt the last eight months have been the toughest for us," he told Rural News. "Everything you've learned about dairy farming, we had to condense it into eight months. It's been very hard."

Zonderop admits that he reached a point where he was struggling.

"I was thinking 'where should I go, what do I do now?' I had to do something."

He started "a line by line" review of his farm and feed budgets in search of savings.

The onset of winter brought another problem - lack of grass growth. With the farm running out of maize and grass silage, it was time to perform a review at the herd level. This is where, Zonderop believes, most farers are feeling stressed out.

"I went through and made my cull list, it was a difficult decision," he says.

"What we normally cull at Christmas time. I've had to let go now based on the grass and weather situation and to improve my cash flow."

Zonderop, who employs one full-time and one part-time staff, says cutting staff hours isn't an option. Instead, he has opted to reduce "rats and mice stuff".

Herd testing has been slashed from five times a year to two. He picks up his own fertiliser, calf meal and the like, saving on transport costs. Instead of using contractors to send cows to the works, he uses the works' stock truck, which is not convenient but saves him about $400/month in transport costs. A review of the mating plan was also done, saving $2,200.

Zonderop says every little bit helps and he praises the work done by the Rural Support Trust.

"They are an essential part of team ag," he says.

Trust national council board member Mike Green describes their impact as far-reaching, saying for each person that attends, four more are helped, given the closeness of rural communities.

"Generally, after these events, we get a rise in calls and enquiries, quite often starting on the night of the event. People attending will often talk about their own problems, or those of family and friends," he says.

Green says rising on-farm costs and compounding regulations are all adding to the stress for New Zealand farmers and others living rurally.

"Fortunately, what was once a taboo subject has now come to the forefront. The earlier people can get out of a negative space, the easier it is to move forward."