Farmstrong

Taranaki dairy farmer Kane Brisco is one of more than 20,000 Kiwi farmers involved in nationwide, rural wellbeing programme Farmstrong.

Farmstrong helps farmers and their families cope with the ups and downs of farming by encouraging them to make small, regular investments into their

‘wellbeing account’ so they have something to ‘draw from’ when times are tough.

Simple habits such as staying in touch with mates, having breaks, keeping active, eating well and getting enough sleep gives the mind and body a chance to rest, recover and recharge.

The challenge of making these ideas part of ‘business as usual’ is something

Kane Brisco takes seriously.

Kane’s a 50:50 sharemilker at Ohangai,

Taranaki. He loves his sport and workouts, but he’s a long way from any gym so he set up his own ‘boot camp’ gym on-farm and started a FarmFit group, which now has a large following on Facebook and Instagram.

“I had a quick climb up the farming ladder. As time went on I got into a pretty high-stress, high-pressure farm environment and had some tough times. When we went sharemilking the payout dropped, so there was heaps of pressure. I’d given up rugby by then too, so that was when I realised I needed to start exercising again and pay attention to my health and nutrition to get through,” Kane says.

“I remember the first spring after I finished rugby, I was so unfit on-farm

I really hated it. Then I realised there’s probably a heap of farmers who don’t do any training either, so it must suck for them too.

“That’s why I started FarmFit. I ran a summer boot camp and everyone loved it, so I put it out on social media and it’s been going for three years now.

“All I did was share things that worked for me in terms of being proactive about my health on-farm and life in general.”

Kane says his boot camps are as much about the ‘top paddock’ as getting in shape.

“I use physical fitness as a way to encourage mental fitness. I see physical and mental health as a two-way street – you can’t have good mental health without good physical health. It’s about understanding that moving the body helps your mental wellbeing. And that what you’re eating and drinking has a big impact on how you feel. If you’re just eating junk food, I think it makes it difficult to be mentally fit,” he says.

Kane says he’s also got into journaling to manage stress.

“Writing things down and prioritising them is a big one for me for managing stress on-farm. Getting those worries out of your head and onto paper, so you start dealing in facts and taking practical action. That’s much healthier than having everything flying round in your own head and feeling stressed. I’ve learnt that action is the antidote to anxiety,” he says.

Eating well is important too.

“It’s really hard to perform at a high level on-farm when you’re not fuelling up properly. Some farmers even treat spring as a way to lose weight. I reckon if you do that, it’s probably costing you 20% of your performance on-farm. In spring it’s about getting as much energy as you can. I try to get fruit, veges, carbs and protein in every meal. I make sure I eat three good meals and a couple of snacks a day,” he says.

“I’ll start the day with Weet-Bix or porridge early. I also have a snack box down at the cowshed so I can eat something like an oat bar at about 8 or 9am. Staying hydrated is important too, especially in spring and summer when I’m sweating a lot.”

How does a busy farmer like Kane find time to fit all this in?

“I guess I’ve just learnt to juggle things better. I’m flat out at the moment. We’re still feeding calves, cutting silage, getting crops in the ground and fertiliser, dealing with cold fronts and storms coming through, so there’s all sorts of things going on. But it’s about being aware of what else is important too, because I reckon there’s a 100% correlation between doing these things and how well you perform on-farm,” he says.

Which is why Kane’s a strong advocate of Farmstrong.

“When life gets stressful on-farm, being able to take back a bit of control is important. I think the more tools you have in your toolbelt to help you keep well and deal with stress the better. There’s a lot of good, practical stuff that farmers are sharing through Farmstrong,” he says.

“Staying fit and well, and helping others to do the same, is helping me to be a better person, a better farmer and a better husband.” n

“I was so unfit onfarm I really hated it. Then I realised there’s probably a heap of farmers who don’t do any training either, so it must suck for them too.”

Under the pump?

For tips and ideas, visit farmstrong.co.nz