We were recently invited to participate in a farm field day raising funds for men's depression support group Beyond Blue.
Having grown up on a farm, we are very aware of the unique pressures that farming families are under. Drought, flood, fire and other factors outside human control cause enormous stress on farming families and of course, farms are businesses with all the pressures that entails.
Farming men in particular, can find it hard to reach out for help in tough times, and so Beyond Blue. has a number of initiatives targeting men in rural communities.
The field day was held in the country town of Kingaroy about 2 and ½ hours drive from our head office on the sunshine coast.
Traditionally, Kingaroy is the centre of Australia's peanut and navy bean industries and also has a strong agricultural and beef cattle heritage. I travelled to the field day with my father, and we really enjoyed the country hospitality and feeling of community.Having grown up on a farm, we are very aware of the unique pressures that farming families are under. Drought, flood, fire and other factors outside human control cause enormous stress on farming families and of course, farms are businesses with all the pressures that entails.
Farming men in particular, can find it hard to reach out for help in tough times, and so Beyond Blue. has a number of initiatives targeting men in rural communities.The field day was held in the country town of Kingaroy about 2 and ½ hours drive from our head office on the sunshine coast.
As well as taking the opportunity to meet many of our customers from local farms, I particularly enjoyed just walking around watching the families, listening to the country singer, taking a chance guessing the weight of a 3 year old steer, and watching the faces of the small children as the visiting trick horse riders do their thing.
There is something about seeing 4 generations of a farming family strolling through the stalls displaying everything from tractors, cowboy boots, seed and of course discount pet products (that's us!) with great grand dad in a wheel chair, grandad and dad wearing matching cowboy hats, toddler in the in push chair and of course, mum in boots, hat and a baby's milk bottle tucked in to her back pocket!.
The old saying is true - "you can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy".
The day itself was a great success financially, raising over $10,000 for anti-depression initiatives among rural communities. Well done to all the organisers.
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