With the tough climate we live in, financially, emotionally and morally – judged by many who have no right to cast opinions – there is concern for the wellbeing and survival of the New Zealand farmer.
Many agencies out there are demanding funding to look after the wellbeing of rural NZ.
The average farmer has no trust in these people turning up in the latest fleet vehicle with a shiny logo on the side offering advice on mental health from a folder created by an expert in job security and resource-gathering ensuring a healthy career.
They might have read about the farmers’ plight and life and a few, a very few, might even have experienced it but they will be the minority.
If some of the funding spent on these schemes went into rural social activities or support of youth activities I am sure it would be spent with more result.
As a small town boy growing up in a town where a trip to Wanganui was a once- or twice-a-month special occasion we had a need to entertain, educate and support our own in our way.
How did we do this? We had a rural community, strong on support, full of life and caring for each other.
This, I believe, is what is needed today.
We had regular outings to country sports days, the A&P show, the rodeo; regular dances and country balls and as many excuses as possible to come together.
Neighbours shore each other’s sheep and docked/tailed lambs together. That time was spent talking to each other and if Joe was in trouble everyone knew it and support was given from like-minded people who might in turn need the same one day.
These days we just don’t have that.
We live a life that requires speed to survive, fast internet, fast cars and everything needs a button to make it go to keep the wheels turning to meet the financial obligations of running a farming operation in the new era.
The time spent on this roller-coaster just to stay aboard does not foster the same community spirit. This is progress?
As we head into a modern-day perfect storm in the rural climate it is my belief it will be the community spirit that will help those in dire straits, not in a financial way (that’s an article for another day) but mentally and emotionally.
We will need to get back to the cheapest form of entertainment as close to home as possible.
We will need to keep an eye over the fence, not at the greener grass but at the possible need for help.
I can remember a neighbour calling me one day when our farms were slipping away after a week of rain through new fences and filling dams. We met at the back of the farm with a bottle of whisky and while mixing it with water from the sky worked out a plan to repair the boundary. It was light relief in a bad situation but it worked.
More shed parties, sports days and community events will help, with source funding from the pub charities where possible or even put on a community barbecue and game of touch rugby or cricket and enjoy the laughter of kids playing together rather than on a keyboard.
Go and watch the kids or local rugby teams and seek out company you can trust that are on a level playing field.
If life gets to a point where it’s all uphill from where you stand, slow down, take a look at your children’s eyes as they will be in admiration of you even when you find it hard to accept the position we have found ourselves in. In them you will find strength as they are our reason to survive.
On a lighter note, I’m going to round up the cast-offs from The Bachelor television show and start a shed party series where the rural ladies in the kitchen teach them how to be real women worth something to themselves and others and where on the dance floor they will meet real men with dirt under their nails, manners in their upbringing and where life is the script and the weather is the director.
I bet that will be a real reality series.
