The Rural Support Time Out Tour

This autumn, TV presenter turned farmer Matt Chisolm will be touring rural Canterbury sharing his struggle with addiction and talking ways to mental wellbeing, with the Rural Support Trust.

Supplied by Bayleys Country

When people are under pressure, The Rural Support Trust believes in the importance of sharing stories with someone who’s been there before.

Bayleys Country are longtime supporters of the Trust. Their Country Manager, Kevin Jenkins will be attending Matt’s upcoming talks in Omihi and Timaru.

We caught up with Kevin and asked why Bayleys are backing Matt’s tour.

out for each other. But working rurally can be a challenge when it comes to mental wellbeing.

“People live in remote areas where there aren’t many others to talk to. And farmers can find it hard to ask for help. We’re very good at bluffing, making everything seem normal, but behind the scenes we can be really struggling.” set up Surfing for Farmers to help farmers reset. you a better choice.

Today, there’s a surfboard and a BBQ waiting for farmers at 21 locations across New Zealand, including four in Canterbury (Sumner, Gore Bay, Hickory Bay and Kakanui).

Kevin says it’s another way for rural communities to look out for each other.

“Bayleys are very proud to be involved in this tour. Supporting mental wellbeing is something we firmly believe in, and we can’t wait to welcome you to Matt’s talks in Omihi and Timaru.”

Bayleys agents

live, work, and farm in Canterbury rural communities

“The Bayleys team is out there every day in rural communities. Many of our team live in rural communities and are farmers themselves, myself included,” Kevin sasid.

“So, we appreciate first-hand the stress rural people can experience. Pressures build up and impact on relationships and health.

“Rural communities are good at looking

“At Bayleys we see all this because we live, work and farm in rural communities. So, the mental health and wellbeing of rural people is very important to us.”

Surfing for Farmers gets farmers out on the waves

The Rural Support Trust isn’t the only way Bayleys supports rural communities. In 2019 Bayleys rural real estate agent Stephen Thomson could see how tough many farmers were finding life. Getting out on his board helped him take space from the pace, so he