RURAL health experts are urging plans be put in place to deal with the psychological and social consequences of an animal disease outbreak in the same way economic impacts are being prepared for.
Experienced livestock producers agree, saying the degree to which culling might have to occur in a foot and mouth or lumpy skin disease outbreak would be unprecedented.
Dr Kate Gunn, from the University of South Australia's Department of Rural Health, has reviewed studies from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands following FMD outbreaks and says there is no doubt depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder levels were elevated in producers where culling took place.
"The farmers who blamed themselves for the consequences of the outbreak struggled the most," she said.
A key learning from the UK research was that affected producers were more likely to turn to family, friends and their vets for support.
Support from within the agricultural community itself, or from more anonymous sources like internet resources, was the most effective.
"Australian research has already shown that farmers are half as likely as others to see a general practitioner," Dr Gunn said.
Drivers for that were both internal and external - by nature farmers tend to be reluctant to complain and prefer to be independent but there are also structural barriers such as long waiting times or lack of access to services in the bush.
And of course at play is the traditional attitude that the farm comes first and a producer only stops working when he or she physically can't.
"For all those reasons, there are very low rates of help seeking in terms of mental health issues among farmers," Dr Gunn said.
Coupled with the challenge of GP, psychologist and mental health worker shortages in rural areas, there is strong argument for mental health preparedness to be included in all FMD, lumpy skin and African swine fever response planning.
Dr Gunn said thinking more broadly about how we might support farmers would be necessary.
She suggested upskilling the broader agricultural community - training people already on the ground on how to help producers with the potential emotional consequences - along with online resource and education development, and support delivered by industry groups.
"What will be very important is helping producers recognise many aspects of the FMD threat are beyond their control and helping people manage the uncertainty that comes with that," Dr Gunn said.
"Farmers are renowned for having a built-in resilience. They are stoic but when it comes to mental health that's not such a good thing.
"If our farmers don't end up needing the strategies because there is no FMD outbreak, the work will still be very valuable in the face of ever-present threats such as drought, floods and fires."
Already in existence is a free online resource ifarmwell.com.au - designed by rural health experts in conjunction with farmers - that provides tools for dealing with things beyond a producers' control.
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Shan Goodwin
Shan Goodwin steers ACM’s national coverage of the beef industry. Shan has worked as a journalist for 30 years, the majority of that with agricultural publications. She spent many years as The Land’s North Coast reporter and has visited beef properties and stations throughout the country and overseas. She treats all breeds equally. Contact 0427686187. E: s.goodwin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Shan Goodwin steers ACM’s national coverage of the beef industry. Shan has worked as a journalist for 30 years, the majority of that with agricultural publications. She spent many years as The Land’s North Coast reporter and has visited beef properties and stations throughout the country and overseas. She treats all breeds equally. Contact 0427686187. E: s.goodwin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
