A rural wellbeing programme ‘Getting Through’ has been launched to support farmers going through the recovery process from adverse weather events.

It was about 10 days after Cyclone Gabrielle hit. Hawke’s Bay deer farmer Harry Gaddum remembers feeling so tired he was ready to keel over. He had been running on adrenaline, racing around trying to get stuff done.

“It was bloody hard, carrying deer netting around and posts and waratahs and what not. I was stuffed,” said Gaddum, who was a Getting Through contributor.

Then one Sunday morning some help arrived that turned things around. A helping hand at that moment was a game-changer.

“A stock agent, a family friend, arrived with a trailer-load of fencing gear. He lit the fire again and we got stuck in. There was this bit of fence that needed work, and it really got to me because it was our main laneway. He said let’s attack that bit. It didn’t take much. It just took him and a bit of motivation really. He was there for a couple of days and just having someone to talk to from outside was massive.

“And then another crew from Manawatū turned up and we went out and attacked some slips. It was having some people to talk to, a few fresh minds on the whole situation.

“One day out of the blue, a 20-tonne digger was dropped off at the end of our driveway. It was from a gas line laying company based in Taranaki and was organised through a mate. In the driver’s seat was a box of grease and a note saying, ‘best of luck with it all Harry’. It was a miracle the transporter truck made it out over our little gravel road through all the mayhem.”

Hawke’s Bay deer farmer Harry Gaddum.

Farming has always been part of Gaddum’s life. Three years ago, he and his wife Emily came back to lease the family farm. Since then, they’ve had some big challenges to deal with – a drought in 2020, Cyclone Hale in 2023 and soon after, the big one, Cyclone Gabrielle.

Hale was a wild event and gave them a taste of what could happen with a mighty rain. They got some substantial slips, but it was nothing like what was to come. They were housebound for a week when Cyclone Gabrielle struck, power and communications were cut off.

They couldn’t get down their driveway with water three feet deep roaring by. There are 10 houses up their road, and they were all locked in.

“It was running shoes on and getting around the farm that way. Just running and running. Every ridge you’d go over would be another blow, another slip and another mob of deer out. Those first few days were tough, witnessing everything you worked on disappearing a little bit.”

The stories of farmers impacted by severe weather events in 2023 have been captured by Farmstrong in a bid to give others in the primary sector more tools to get through tough times.

More than 30 farmers, growers and industry leaders were interviewed as part of the series that has been pulled into a book, website and resources to support those going through the recovery process from the weather events.

Farmstrong is a nationwide, rural wellbeing programme that helps farmers and growers manage the ups and downs of farming.

ACC is a strategic partner of Farmstrong, alongside founding partners rural insurer FMG and the Mental Health Foundation.

“We need to acknowledge this has been an extraordinary and stressful time for farmers in these regions,” said Paula Wood, ACC’s injury prevention workplace manager.

“We are pleased to support this Getting Through toolkit to ensure farmers and growers have the resources they need to get through extreme weather events.”

In 2022, ACC accepted over 22,630 farming-related injury claims, which came at a cost of $96 million to help people recover.

An ACC-funded study for Farmstrong shows 58% per cent of injured farmers linked their injuries to stress associated with farm work. A quarter of them said it was a major factor.

Hawke’s Bay deer farmer Harry Gaddum.

Last year, 15,500 farmers and growers attributed an increase in their wellbeing to the Farmstrong programme.

The book and accompanying website titled ‘Getting Through’ were officially launched in Wellington on Thursday. The launch was attended by Minister for Mental Health and Minister for ACC Matt Doocey and Gaddum.

“It’s just so important to be connected. In a time of crisis, support is literally the neighbour,” said Gaddum.

Farmstrong programme director Gerard Vaughan said there is a wealth of knowledge that farmers and growers can tap into and use as a roadmap to move forward following tough times.

“The main takeout from these resources is a hopeful one. As awful as these events are, farmers and growers do find a way through. A long-haul recovery, however, is a marathon, not a sprint. That’s why people’s mental and physical wellbeing has to be a priority, despite the upheaval.”

Vaughan said the tools and insights from Getting Through are relevant for anyone facing tough times.

“There are practical mental skills that people can draw on to help them manage the ‘emotional rollercoaster’ of a recovery. We know that different things work for different people. That’s why Farmstrong’s call to action is always ‘Find out what works for you and ‘lock it in’,” he said.

Getting Through was made possible with the support of the Ministry for Primary Industries, Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora and Rural Support Trust.

Copies of the book can be requested via emailing info@farmstrong.co.nz

For more information visit: https://gettingthrough.farmstrong.co.nz/.

This story was taken from the Getting Through book with permission.