Fonterra was heavily involved in the programme, funded by Dairy NZ, Beef + Lamb New Zealand, Northland Regional Council, Northland Inc, and the Ministry of Primary Industries.
The programme intentionally focused on improved farmer wellbeing as one of its three main goals, alongside increased profitability and environmental sustainability.
E350 Project Lead Luke Beehre says this was quite a progressive approach at the time.
"There have been some significant societal changes in the past six years. We started the project in 2017 and wellbeing conversations were less part of the marketplace than they are now. We were very intentional about having a triple bottom line - the three planks: the need to have a profitable business, the need to be environmentally sustainable and the need to actually have a robust wellbeing," he says.
The programme introduced a wellbeing score to allow farmers to easily share how they were feeling.
"The exercise was never to document whether you're a seven or a five or a four. It was to create an environment to have a conversation around it. There was the expectation that you would share how you were. I think that was really helpful for a lot of participants, knowing that you're not the only one in the room who's going to talk about how you are today, and 'sometimes I'll be better, sometimes you'll be better, and that's okay'. The concept really resonated and it created a framework that farmers have continued to use."
Lincoln University lecturer Dr Jorie Knook interviewed the participating farmers during the study and says the focus on wellbeing was a highlight.
"We had farmers tell us that wellbeing had not ever factored into their way of working. They would never have asked their employees how they were doing, even when they could see they were having an off-day or not doing very well for a few weeks."
"After the programme, they had the confidence to enter the conversation and say, 'Hey, how are you doing? Is there something that we can do for you? Can we support you in any way?'. The programme normalised conversations around wellbeing," Jorie says.
At the end of the programme, participants reported a 60% improvement in their social networks, 55% in business networks and 59% increase in discussions about wellbeing in social circles.1
Maintaining the normalised approach to wellbeing and support is a work in progress, say Jorie and Luke. Massey and Lincoln Universities have introduced wellbeing concepts into their courses to ensure young people are equipped with tools to manage their wellbeing before they go into the sector.
"Some parts of the farming community are reasonably well-resourced and supported, and other parts of the community is a complete desert. There's definitely an opportunity to apply resources more effectively and in a targeted manner," Luke says.
Farm Source has a range of wellbeing resources on our website or visit your local Farm Source store to find out more.
1 Extension 350 Programme 22016-2022 Final Report. 26 October 2022. https://www.northlandnz.com/northland-inc/what-we-do/regional-infrastructure-and-investment/regionalprojects/extension-350.