Heavy mental health burden in WA ag has been recognised by the National Centre for Farmer Health

The NCFH is also preparing to submit a pilot proposal to the WA Government for funding to help it run programs in WA - including key mental health diagnostic and treatment services.

NCFH director Alison Kennedy told Farm Weekly this week the centre was very aware of the particularly high mental health toll on WA farmers - given the burden of labour shortages, gun ownership and cultural heritage law reform and uneven rainfall patterns in the State, plus the Federal government's move to phase-out live sheep exports by ship.

"We are aware of the challenges that farmers in WA are facing at the moment, particularly around the live export trade but also the new farm safety regulations - which we know is causing quite a lot of challenge to people's mental health,'' associate professor Kennedy said.

"We know the changing landscape of farming is also a challenge in WA.

"With the rise in corporate farming - family farmers are leaving communities which presents challenges around community connection and support networks.

"There are lot of complex and compounding challenges that people are facing."

Ms Kennedy said with the start of its new funding round on July 1, the NCFH was preparing to roll-out its next round of the farmer health and lifestye assessments at field days across Australia - including at least one of WA's main field day events.

The program involves a health care team offering a 20-minute, face-to-face health, wellbeing and safety assessment, from which farmers leave with a clear idea of any 'red flag' personal health issues and a plan to address them.

Its team can conduct up to 40 of the screening appointments per day at field days and usually partner with other local health services, such as those providing hearing tests.

"People walk away with a health passport, so it identifies any issues and has recommendations for follow up,'' Ms Kennedy said.

There is also digital version of the website, called Farmer HAT.

"It works like a traffic light system,'' she said.

"If you get a red in a one area it suggests that you need to go take it to your GP for a follow up."

A separate Agrisafe program offers a 90-minute, one-on-one clinic to farmers which is more broadly focused on occupational risk.

"Agrisafe covers the things we would cover in a health and lifestyle assessment and extends to things such as agrichemical exposure, the correct use of personal protective equipment and a hearing check as well,'' Ms Kennedy said.

"Those programs are quite holistically focused - we talk about the physical health and safety but also mental health as well."

It's proposed pilot program would include a range of activities including Farmer Health and wellbeing and safety checks, including building local health workforce capacity for on-going delivery of the program, training of trusted advisers to increase their capacity to support farmers experiencing stress and training for farmers to give them practical skills to prevent mental health risks for themselves, their families and co-workers.

It would also include education for secondary students and teacher resources to support a positive culture for the next generation of farmers.

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The NCFH is a significant provider of health, wellbeing and safety programs to farmers and farming communities - most particularly in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

Ms Kennedy said the centre was running programs in WA prior to COVID - but lockdowns and distance interrupted its efforts - and funding is required to restore them.

The NCFH, which has its head office in the Victorian agricultural community of Hamilton, offers a range of in-person and online support services, including an online psychological services, webinars, podcats and factsheets - aimed at farmers, their families, farm workers, communities and associated farm advisers.

She said the tools were all developed and tested over time and were based on extensive research in best practice and detailed farmer input.

"WA is an area that we have done face-to face-work in the past and have been engaged in delivering health and welfare assessments at field days,'' Ms Kennedy said.

"It is something we are very much interested in re-developing - with a view to up-skilling people in WA to help us with the roll-out of programs.

"For us it is often about partnering with industry and people on the ground and building local capacity and then to be able to roll-out some of these programs on the ground."

Ms Kennedy said the biggest impediment to a wide-scale roll-out in WA was funding.

"We have people in WA already, who have completed our agricultural health and medicine training,'' she said.

"We can already partner with local people and we can send across people from the east, to help up-skill people as well."

If you, or someone you care for is experiencing distress or struggling in rural communities, talk to your family, a friend, a trusted member of your community or a health professional.

In addition, help is available at: