South-east South Australian dairyfarmer Andrew Cavill has just finished his first stint as a sheep farmer, all in the name of good mental health.
Last year Mr Cavill was behind the launch of a Men’s Watch program introduced in the Limestone Coast region to tackle its alarming rate of rural men’s suicide that has claimed several lives in recent years. Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show rural men are the most common victims of suicide.
A new program is due in October and Mr Cavill also hopes to start a Women’s Watch later in the year.
At the same time he’s doing his bit personally to make sure fellow farmers are doing okay…even if that means temporarily trading allegiance from dairy cows to sheep.
Mr Cavill, who will share his experiences and outline the Men’s Watch program at the Grassland Society of Southern Australia’s annual conference in Naracoorte South Australia on July 22-23, has swapped farming duties with a neighbour for a few days.
In the wake of ongoing dry conditions in Mr Cavill’s Bool Lagoon region near Naracoorte, sheep farmers have been forced to feed their flocks for up to seven hours each day for the past eight months.
Apart from the cost, the time commitment is taking its toll.
“I’ve been watching them feed their sheep for weeks on end and felt to myself I bet these fellas are over it,” Mr Cavill said.
“I stopped a farmer on the road the other day and asked how he was going feeding the sheep. He said he just couldn’t do it for one more day he was that sick of it.
“After talking for a while he realised it was becoming a mental health issue. There are a lot like it. It wears them down. Those are the issues that get men depressed.”
Adopting the old maxim that a change is as good as a holiday, Mr Cavill and his fellow farmer came up with a plan. “We feed dairy cows every day so I said I’ll swap you," he said. "You show me how to do yours and I’ll show you how to do mine and we can both have a break for a few days each month till we don’t need to anymore.”
That “do something different” strategy is one of many Mr Cavill has used over the years to keep good mental health.
He will be sharing some of his strategies and outlining the Men’s Watch program at the Grassland Society conference where he will also talk about his successful pasture management system.
Mr Cavill said the first round of Men’s Watch programs had been a resounding success.
Four programs ran last year at Mt Gambier, Penola, Naracoorte and Millicent and attracted 121 men.
The programs are funded by local communities and designed to get men talking and being better able to identify signs of problems.
“Ultimately we want to measure it with a dropping rate in suicides but to get 121 men to have a better understanding of what goes on and why they feel like they do we consider to be very successful,” Mr Cavill said.
“It’s to help men to build strategies to overcome daily problems and longer term to give them confidence to see a doctor and get a resolution. If you don’t do anything about it, it’s just like an untreated cancer; it just spreads.
“You find big tough farmers who come and won’t talk about anything but by the second night they’re opening up and talking about things they admit they wouldn’t normally talk to anyone about.
“Hopefully some of the men are also better equipped to identify others in trouble and be able to communicate with them.”
The program will be run annually in the lower south-east of South Australia, with four new sessions to be rolled out later this year.
Mr Cavill also hopes to start a Women’s Watch program to help women understand what men are going through.
He said the program aimed to reduce the stigma of having a mental health problem.
“Being mentally unwell is no different to having a sore leg,” he said. “Rural men are terrible at going to the doctor. We just want to tough it out and don’t want anyone to know.”
Mr Cavill, 53, had problems nearly 20 years ago. “I’ve always been a very positive person but I had a terrible upbringing that never affected me until I was about 35," he said. "Farming wise I’ve always been okay but if you spend a lot of years not dealing with stuff it affects your faming, your life and your family.
“I came to a point where I had to deal with it. In those days there wasn’t much help around so I had to deal with it myself and worked out a few things to get me through.”
Mr Cavill, who milks 600 cows on 400 hectares, will also outline his pasture management system during the Grassland Society conference.
“We’re trying to tell some sheep farmers how to grow more grass,” he joked. “Dairyfarmers have to be good at it because we consume enormous amounts of grass.”
Mr Cavill said sowing the right species of ryegrass, using the right amount of urea fertiliser, choosing the right rotation length, grazing times and stocking rates were key factors.
The Grassland Society of Southern Australia’s annual conference will feature visits to progressive farmers in the area and follow themes of soils, pastures, livestock, farm business and people, and marketing.
The complete program is available on the Grassland Society web site at www.grasslands.org.au.
To RSVP contact: Grassland Society of Southern Australia on 1300 137 550 or email Email office@grasslands.org.au.
More information: Tim Prance, conference convenor, Email t.prance@bigpond.net.au or mobile 0427 812 655.
