Special Campaign Underway to Support Rural Wellness in Southland

The Southland Rural Support Trust is set to get a significant funding boost this spring to help further support Southland farmers.

A new promotion called ‘Green for Good’ by key local seed retailers and organised by Barenbrug is running from now until the  30th November 2024.

During this time, Barenbrug will donate to the Trust a proportion of the value of every 25 kg bag of pasture seed sold through Farm Source, Farmlands, Advance Agriculture, Kubala Seeds and H&T Agronomics. The funding is expected to reach $50,000.

SRST operations co-ordinator Fiona Comer says it’s exciting for the Trust to secure this generous level of support from the rural business community, and Green for Good will enable it to extend its work.

Barenbrug marketing manager Jo Brady says this past year has been a tough one for many farming families in the region.

“So this campaign is about giving back through the Trust, and we really appreciate the great support our resellers have given us in making this happen.”

When floodwaters inundated Southland in February 2020, prompting a regional State of Emergency, the SRST helped dozens of farmers pick up the pieces.

The Trust was there when Mycoplasma bovis brought heartbreak and hardship a few years earlier, and again when drought was declared in autumn 2022.

In fact, since it was formed in 2007, the SRST has mobilised for any number of adverse events. But that’s only part of its mission, as Fiona Comer explains.

People can – and do – contact the Trust about virtually anything, from mental health and exhaustion to finances and relationships both private and professional.  

“We get calls about employment issues. We get calls from people who might have injured themselves, and need someone to come cover for them on the farm, says the former MAF farm advisor who joined the organisation in 2018.

Regardless of what prompts the initial contact, those working for the Trust draw on their own farming backgrounds and access to a wide range of specialists to provide 100 per cent confidential personal support and referrals to the right people for support.

“We work really hard to find a good fit between our individual clients, and those in the wider community with specific skills who might be able to help them navigate their way through whatever is affecting them,” Fiona says.

Demand has increased markedly in recent months, particularly around finances and employment issues, and there has been an uptick in the number of rural service providers seeking advice as well as farmers.

Up until a year ago the co-ordination and wellness role for the Trust was carried out on a voluntary basis by Lindsay Wright. Lindsay retired from that role and has continued as a Trustee.

A review of the role recognised an increasing workload, splitting it into two part-time contract roles - operations and wellness and former trustees Rachael Nicholson and Fiona Comer have taken on those roles. 

Prior to 30 June 2024, MPI had provided some funding for adverse event readiness and separate Rural Wellness funding, with donations to the Trust funding the remainder of wellness support.

From the start of July 2024, MPI removed the contribution to rural wellness funding.

“As this is a major part of SRST's work, the funds raised by Barenbrug will ensure that SRST has the funds to support to farmers in need over the coming year,” Fiona says.  

Local organisations around the region also contribute much-needed funding by organising their own events, and this sort of home-grown support makes a big difference.

“We really want to promote rural wellness through various events, throughout the year, as well as continuing our one to one work with clients who approach us for help.

“Last year, for example, we ran a very successful breakfast for rural professionals, which was all about giving them more confidence and skills to go onto farms and engage with their clients with the recognition that many of those farmers might be under stress for various reasons.

“We’ve only just scratched the surface in terms of this sort of work,” Fiona says.

To find out more about Green for Good, talk to your local Farm Source, Farmlands, Advance Agriculture, Kubala Seeds or H&T Agronomics team.