TWO PENOLA farmers will tour South Australia to encourage their peers to bare all as part of The Naked Farmer mental health initiative.
The Naked Farmer founders Ben Brooksby and Mason Galpin will take time away from their roles at Warrawindi farm to meet with primary producers across the state to piece together a new book.
Raising money for mental health support services, the book will feature stories and photographs detailing farmers from the Limestone Coast, Port Lincoln, Kangaroo Island, Cooper Pedy and more.
It is the next step for the motivated duo which forged The Naked Farmer almost by accident, with a campaign targetting metropolitan South Australia on the importance of agriculture deviating into the mental health movement.
“We have had farmers from across South Australia put their hands up to be a part of the project and they are not just farmers on land, there will be oyster farmers, pig farmers, avocado farmers and fruit farmers, so it is across the board,” Mr Brooksby said.
“We will visit the farmers and have a chat or a coffee with them. If they are comfortable, we will record the conversation and use their story for the book.
“We will also take photographs around the farm, painting a picture of what life is like there before taking the famous naked farmer photograph to go alongside their story.”
Mr Brooksby said the book would further their efforts to raise awareness of farmers’ mental health through inspiring stories.
“People need this and it is a great way for farmers to start conversations around mental health, so it is doing what we wanted it to do,” Mr Brooksby said.
“This project is not for us, it is not about us. It is about the people who are part of the farming community who are making it what it is, we are just behind the scenes putting it together.”
Mr Brooksby said farmers helped transform and grow the initiative in its formative stage.
“That is where we thought we should do something positive out of this and decided it would be a movement for mental health,” he said.
“How far it has come is kind of amazing and some of the stories that come through to us is incredible.
“There is such a stigma about mental health with farmers, especially because of droughts and everything else that has happened, but since doing this we have found one of the biggest issues in agriculture that causes mental health issues is finances.”
As COVID-19 disruptions continue across the country, Mr Brooksby said it was critical the mental health of farmers remained a community focus.
“There are so many factors to farming, the weather, the economy and that is why it is such a raw topic that affects all of us and people do not realise that,” he said.
The Naked Farmer book is expected to be released later this year at major retail outlets.
