Emma - Farmer, Gippsland VIC
My picture of the struggle in farmer mental health is:
Trying to run a business at the whim and mercy of volatile market conditions, highly variable input costs, all of which we have no control over, whilst other friends and family don’t understand the huge risk and everyday grit, compared to “regular” jobs and industries other than agriculture.
Some of the glimmer/joyful moments that reflect farmer mental health for me:
Having a win alongside my husband when we know just how much hard work has gone in behind the scenes, the sacrifice and peddling hard to work towards a common goal for our family - it’s a sweet victory when it pays off. With great risk can come great reward.
A little more about Emma:
We farm sheep and potatoes on my family farm as the third generation. A large part of our business is produce trading, packing and freighting (potatoes, cabbages, onions). We have three daughters (9, 7, 3). My husband is not from a family farm, we spent ten years in farm management positions on beef properties and off farm roles in agribusiness finance before returning home to my family farm.
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