Boyanup dairy farmer hosting #6Bs BBQ as industry ‘feels the strain’ of the past few years

The State’s tight-knit dairy community came together last week to highlight the importance of men’s mental health and lift spirits as the industry feels the strain of crippling labour shortages and the rising costs of production.

On Thursday March 24, Boyanup dairy farmer Vic Rodwell opened the gates to his farm to give farmers and men working within the dairy industry the chance to catch up, share stories and debrief.

The event — Barbecue in a Bin — was part of the #6Bs men’s mental health movement, founded by Watheroo farmer and passionate advocate Brad Millsteed in 2017.

Every year since, farmers across WA have held events under the #6Bs umbrella, with the simple premise — blokes, barbecue, bonfire, bonding, beer and bulldust.

About 40 farmers and dairy industry staff brought their swags along for the night, where Arthur River farmer and #6Bs advocated Sam Burgess shared his own mental health story and the importance of blokes talking to each other.

“I always say a problem shared is a problem halved,” he said.

“It’s just for guys to get along, learn that they can talk, and show them it’s alright to talk about this stuff instead of keeping it in and carrying the weight on their shoulders. The stigma of blokes not talking is changing, we’ve got to talk about this stuff.”

Mr Rodwell — who milks about 800 head 20km south-east of Bunbury — said the past few years had taken their toll on WA dairy farmers, with the stress compounded by the impacts of the pandemic.

“There’s a lot of people really showing signs of the stress — physical, financial,” he said.

“The world is a different place right now and there’s a lot of things that consciously and subconsciously affect us all.

“We’ve had some good seasons but it’s always a knife’s edge.

“It’s been a long few years and we’re starting to see the signs.”

The South West farmer was approached by Western Dairy regional manager Julianne Hill to host the event and decided, “why not?”

“I’ve been following what they’ve been doing and they do a great job — I was happy to be involved,” he said.

“It’s a really good initiative.

“A lot of times you’ll go to places and talk to people and they’re having just as sh*t a time as you, and in a funny way it makes you feel better about yourself, that you’re not the only one.”

Mr Rodwell said farmers from Busselton to Harvey came along, as well as agents working in the dairy sector.

“A lot of the times those guys are travelling around to everyone’s farms and they become people’s sounding boards,” Mr Rodwell said.

“So often they need a talk to someone as much as farmers do.”

Mr Burgess said he not only wanted men to know it was OK to talk about how they were feeling and what they were going through, but to understand that help was there.

“I’ll share my own story with mental health and then later on you’ll find people will come up to you throughout the night for a one-on-one,” he said.

“I enjoy helping other people, and it helps me too.”

The event was spearheaded by Mrs Hill, who said it had become apparent in recent weeks the emotional and physical toll the shortage of workers was taking on dairy farmers.

“They’re tired and fatigued because they’re low on staff,” she said.

“Some of them are doing double shifts.

“I reckon 80-90 per cent are working longer hours than usual — they’re 60 to 70-hour guys.”

WA is home to about 125 dairy businesses which produce about 350 million litres of fresh milk a year, but Mrs Hill said staffing issues had been “exacerbated majorly” by the pandemic and farmers were working overtime to keep the milk coming.

“Because dairying isn’t really a glamorous job and hours aren’t particularly friendly, it’s probably one of the industries that lost workers first,” she said.

She said the event was a chance for farmers to get together and have a laugh.

“It’s a bit of fun, it’s good to let some crap go,” Mrs Hill said.

“Often out on their farms they’re quite isolated and don’t catch up to often, so I hope they go home and say, ‘I didn’t know such and such is going through the same issues as me,’” she said.

“Or hear that someone is doing something different and decide they might have a crack at that, or maybe say to their wives maybe it’s time we go on a holiday.

“It’s just a nice way for them to get together and have a chat.”

Mr Rodwell said it had been a great night and was pleased to have been part of it.

“I knew pretty much everybody there and I think people enjoyed the chance to get together and catch up,” he said.

“It’s a good initiative and it was great having Sam come down too.”

Local businesses threw their support behind the event, with Elders supplying money for the catering, Nutrien supplying the barbecue trailer, Western Dairy providing beverages and the Dairy Beef Co providing the snags.