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Overwhelmed by workload pressure, self-doubt and a fear of what others expected of him, fifth generation farmer Sam Spencer-Bower stopped being able to function. It took six months before his wife – and Sir John Kirwan – helped convince him to get help. In this episode, Sam kindly joins us to share his mental health journey: the underlying causes, learning to talk about it, the road to recovery, and the skills he’s developed to cope with the stresses of the job, so he can keep on enjoying dairy farming.

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Additional resources

Inside Dairy June-July 2023

PDF DairyNZ Corporate 5.7 MB
Inside Dairy has info on using genetics to reduce non-replacements, maximising calf care, farmer wellbeing, and the latest plantain research success.

Additional links

Wellbeing

/people/productive-workplaces/

Rural Support Trust

https://www.rural-support.org.nz/

Farmstrong

https://farmstrong.co.nz/