The first appearance of light is muted and pale, breaking over the Barwon region’s fields to cast long shadows across endless paddocks. Before the first coffee is brewed and consumed, dusty tractors rattle through fields and livestock are tended with a precision born of necessity.
Behind the rhythm of blue-collar work lies a mounting burden — the financial pressure bearing down on Australia’s farmers and the toll it takes on their mental wellbeing.
Psychologist Ayush Srivastava says maintaining mental health under such strain is no small task.
“Rural mental health support is a difficult challenge,” he says. “We need more regional mental health hubs and better funding for rural clients to access telehealth.”
According to the National Farmers’ Federation (2023), nearly half of Australian farmers have experienced depression, and almost two-thirds report anxiety.
The same report found that 36 per cent identified financial stress as their greatest concern, followed closely by natural disasters at 47 per cent.
Economic hardship, long work hours, and exposure to unpredictable weather create an environment where mental-health challenges can flourish.
A ScienceDirect (2024) study says financial instability, compounded by droughts, fluctuating commodity prices, and market disruptions, significantly increases the risk of anxiety and depression among rural workers. For many farmers, meeting rising costs of fuel, fertiliser, and machinery while facing declining returns is not just a financial struggle — it becomes a battle for dignity and identity.
Therapist Nick Barrington, who specialises in relationships, says fostering connection is essential to improving wellbeing.
“A strong, connected community helps individuals thrive,” he says.
While programs like iFarmWell and Healthdirect offer online support, some initiatives are working to make help more personal and accessible.
Nikole Schellekens, Founder of AgMind Australia – Bridging the Paddock and Psychology with Practical Mental Health Support for Farmers, by Farmers – based in the Bass Coast and Gippsland regions, believes connection and practicality are key.
“Farmers open up to those who understand their world,” she says. “Our approach is for farmers, by farmers — real, local and grounded in research.”
Schellekens and her team meet farmers “in sheds, paddocks and community halls,” breaking stigma by embedding support within everyday spaces. “Real support starts where people actually are,” she says. “When it feels local and familiar, it builds trust — that’s when people start talking and looking out for each other.”
Through AgMind, farmers learn small, evidence-based tools that fit the rhythm of farm life — strategies they can use “in a tractor cab, at the kitchen table or over a cuppa.”
“Farmers don’t need another big program,” Schellekens says. “They need something that works in the middle of a busy day.”
By weaving mental wellbeing into daily routines, AgMind reframes it as good farm management rather than “help-seeking.”
The program also empowers communities to check in on one another. “Many farmers won’t call a helpline,” she says. “They call a mate. So, we teach people how to have those tough conversations early.” In a sector facing one of the highest suicide rates in Australia, these small, practical steps “can and do save lives.”
Psychologist Bavani Balichalvin offers another perspective — one that turns inward. “Foster wellbeing by identifying what you truly value and taking actions aligned with those values,” she says.
Despite the weight of economic and environmental pressures, hope persists. Across the Barwon region, mental-health networks and farming communities are finding strength through collaboration. Srivastava believes that sustained investment in telehealth and regional practitioners will be key, while Barrington and Balichalvin remind us that connection — both within and beyond ourselves — remains the most powerful tool in protecting wellbeing.
At day’s end, as the paddocks fall silent and machinery rests, one truth endures: behind every harvest lies not only hard work but also the unseen effort of maintaining mental resilience amid the fields of pressure.
Support Contacts:
- Lifeline: 13 11 14
- Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636
- iFarmWell: https://ifarmwell.com.au
This story is part of a project exploring regional Victoria and the issues farmers are facing. See the whole collection here.
