increase font size
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford says while people are opening about mental health, there’s still disproportionately high rates of suicide and depression in rural communities.
“As a country, and as a farming sector, we desperately need to move the conversation beyond just talking about it,” says Langford.
“We need to do something to change the trajectory of those statistics.
His comments come as the country marked mental health awareness week from September 22-29.
Langford the farming sector has recently presented a rural mental health strategy to the Government and wants them to work with Feds to both fund and implement it.
“This strategy is the result of significant collaboration between all those in the rural sector, including Young Farmers, Rural Women, Federated Farmers and the levy bodies.”
Langford says the foundation of this strategy would essentially see a single pool of money go into a contestable fund to make sure it gets to where it’s needed most, with accountability for those results overseen by those in the rural sector.
“At the moment, there’s a lot of good stuff going on to improve rural mental health, with the likes of Rural Support Trust, Farmstrong, and Surfing for Farmers – and we want to see that continue.
“The new strategy is about building on that good work, co-funding projects that make a difference, and ensuring there’s high-level oversight and coordination across the country to make sure we’re hitting the right spots.
“We’ll be pushing the Government to get this across the line so that when next year’s Mental Health Awareness Week comes around, we’re not just talking about the problem, but we’ll have proactive solutions in action.”
Langford acknowledges that when it comes to talking about mental health, the country has come a long way in recent years.
“It wasn’t long ago it was almost viewed as a dark and shameful thing that nobody would ever own up to,” he says.
Academic Dr Mike Joy and his employer, Victoria University of Wellington have apologised for his comments suggesting that dairy industry CEOs should be hanged for contributing towards nitrate poisoning of waterways.
A comment by outspoken academic Dr Mike Joy suggesting that dairy industry leaders should be hanged for nitrate contamination of drinking/groundwater has enraged farmers.
Federated Farmers says the final report into banking competition is a significant step forward for rural New Zealand - and a vindication of the farming sector's concern.
The strain and pressure of weeks of repairing their flood-damaged properties is starting to tell on farmers and orchardists in the Tasman district.
Farmer lobby group Federated Farmers has announced it is supporting a new Member’s Bill which it says could bring clarity to New Zealand farmers and save millions in legal costs.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
DairyNZ says its plantain programme continues to deliver promising results, with new data confirming that modest levels of plantain in pastures reduce nitrogen leaching, offering farmers a practical, science-backed tool to meet environmental goals.
'Common sense' cuts to government red tape will make it easier for New Zealand to deliver safe food to more markets.
OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.
