With three captivating seasons firmly under its belt, full of candid stories from farmers and rural locals across the Wimmera and Southern Mallee, a new season of podcast series ‘Farmer Wants a Healthy Life’ is here.
Aimed at farming families and rural communities, ‘Farmer’, as the podcast series is fondly known, has been making a moving impact on listeners from across the region.
Season four brings more captivating stories, with topics spanning alcoholism, anxiety, a Swedish woman’s take on ‘paddock to plate’ on her Aussie farm, making farms safer for children, connection to land – working with it, not on it, dogs helping to minimise the impact of mental health, family and domestic violence, gambling affects on the family, bio-dynamic farming, and farm fitness.
Podcast interviewees also share their inspiration and drive to creating their own organisations and support groups to help their fellow rural mates regain or maintain a healthy, meaningful, and fulfilling lifestyle.
“The podcast was inspired by the desire to work with people living in rural settings, to start a conversation about health and wellbeing issues unique to us out here in the bush,” West Wimmera Health Service’s Health Promotion Manager, Dorothy McLaren explained.
“Locals interviewed on the podcast speak openly about how they’ve overcome adversities in ways that may surprise you, and we’re hopeful that it will inspire listeners to make choices to improve their own health, to live and thrive.”
Season four features Horsham-raised, Aaron Schultz, who’s passionate about improving the health and lives of men in rural settings. He shares how alcohol, anxiety and exercise have shaped his life and given him the drive to start The Outback Mind Foundation, which provides ongoing well-being tools to help men get back in the driver’s seat of their physical, mental, and emotional health.
In another episode, Tania Walter discusses how she’s been able to support fellow farmers become more active in Marnoo. She also shares some of the ‘behind the scenes’ on her and her husband’s biodynamic farm and takes us back to where it all began.
You can listen to Farmer Wants a Healthy Life on the West Wimmera Health Service website at www.wwhs.net.au/Farmer-wants-a-healthy-life, Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
This article appeared in the Nhill Free Press & Kaniva Times, 4 October 2023.
