Warren Davies "The Unbreakable Farmer" set to share his story around WA in September

At age 22, Warren Davies purchased his first dairy farm at Kyabram, Victoria, forming a family business with his parents who lived on a property next door.

It should have been the start of a successful, fortified career, however the 16 years that followed were hit hard by natural disaster, family breakdowns and financial ruin.

Now, at age 55, Mr Davies is sharing his story - one he admits is not unique - and the strategies he has learned along the way with WA farmers this September.

Within the first few years of purchasing the land, his farm was almost completely wiped out by flood.

"It really set us back, we weren't generational farmers," Mr Davies said.

The flood was the first trigger for his mental health challenges.

"That journey has led me into the mental health space, but also the disaster recovery space," Mr Davies said.

As the farm recovered from the flood, he neglected his own wellbeing.

Years later the family started pulling the farm in different directions, resulting in a "complete relationship breakdown".

"That cloud above my head began to spiral because family is my number one value and had a massive impact on me," Mr Davies said.

"But again, I was so focused on solving the problem that I didn't focus on my own mental health."

The final straw was years of drought.

After initially surviving the first few years, the irrigated water ran out and the dams dried up for good.

"We couldn't grow grass, we were hand feeding cows and changing farm practices just to keep ticking over," Mr Davies said.

"I was starting to exhibit all the signs that I was really struggling, I was frustrated, angry sad, and isolating myself.

"I got to a really dark place and I thought the world would be better off without me.

"That was a defining moment for me, I chose to get better, but then things didn't get any better on the farm because the drought was continuing."

At this point, aged 38, Mr Davies walked off his own farm, financially, physically and emotionally exhausted and unable to sell.

"That was the biggest challenge that I faced, because I left my identity behind with my farm, because that's who I thought I was," he said.

"My whole life, my business, my passion, where my kids grew up, my house, my job, everything was all tied up in that farm.

"And so losing it was a massive failure in my eyes, and something my identity was attached to, so that was a big challenge to overcome."

Mr Davies and his family moved to South Australia, where he stayed within the dairy industry, managing large-scale dairy farms.

"It was a really empty feeling, when your identity is tied up with something, you think that's all you can do," he said.

Mr Davies said he stayed in the dairy industry out of a combination of passion and familiarity.

"I did try some other things, and tried to break out of that 24/7 lifestyle of a dairy farmer, but I would always fall back to dairy farming," he said.

"I enjoyed being around the animals, when I look back on it, there was probably something therapeutic about being around cows, because it was something that I was really passionate about, and cows are smart and they love a cuddle."

Despite the hardships, Mr Davies said he wouldn't change anything.

"It was a great place to bring up kids, and it taught my kids some good skills on how to deal with adversity and how to pick yourself up when things are tough," he said.

"It taught me some great lessons as well, but it came at the cost of my mental health."

Working his way into motivational speaking was a progression that started a couple of years ago when Mr Davies took a public speaking course as a means of self development.

He never liked public speaking and still deals with nerves before every talk, but said he found it "cathartic" to share his story.

"Standing up in front of a room is not my natural environment," Mr Davies said.

"But once I get going, my purpose overtakes my anxiety.

"Some parts of my story can be challenging, and still have a physical effect on me while I'm on stage.

"I never realised how much of an impact some events in my life really had on me as a person.

"There'll be at least one person there who will resonate with my story and be able to use the strategies I talk about to help themselves or someone they love."

For more information about the WA tour go to theunbreakablefarmer.com.au.

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