Norco has announced the expansion of its ‘Farmer Army’ with new mental health recruit and dairy farmer veteran, Craig Waddell.
Norco, Australia’s largest and oldest dairy co-operative, recognised the crucial need for the newly created role of mental health support officer, following its own research about farmer mental health, which found close to half (45 per cent) of Australian farmers had thoughts of self-harm or suicide.
Coined the National Farmer Wellbeing Report and in partnership with the National Farmers’ Federation, close to half of Australian farmers (45 per cent) have felt depressed and nearly two thirds (64 per cent) have experienced anxiety in the past few years.
Norco CEO Michael Hampson said the newly created position of mental health support officer will provide support exclusively to their farmer members who may need to talk to someone during challenging times or simply want to have a chat with another farmer.
Craig Waddell is a third generation dairy farmer who grew up in Bex Hill, NSW, just 10km out of Lismore.
His grandfather first started the farm where Craig grew up. When Craig was in his 20s he joined his mum and dad in a partnership and then took over the helm when they retired.
However, after 45 years of dairy farming and the devastating floods, he decided to hang up his hat and embark on a new calling, completing Lifeline’s Mental Health First Aid training to give back to an industry he had worked in for so many years.
Craig recognises the importance of Norco extending support to farmers in need and his training has equipped him with the necessary skills to embark on his new role as mental health support officer for Norco, where he will provide exclusive and essential support to farming members.
Craig says farmers are faced with different challenges and tested every day with some days better than others.
“The support I will be able to offer, can and will make a positive impact on the Norco farmer community,” he said.
“I feel confident because of my training and look forward to the new experiences this role will bring, because if I can help somebody by having a yarn and making their life easier, it’s a great thing to do.
“I’ve been in the industry for so long, I understand the different challenges faced by farmers and the difficulties of just needing someone to talk to after a bad day,” Craig adds.
Craig will be working alongside Norco dairy farmer Ross Blanch, who has been actively giving back to the community with Queensland Lifeline’s Farmer-to-Farmer helpline, and he feels confident knowing he can lean on Ross for support.
“Ross has years of experience in this field and knowing I can lean on him for support, advice and even just to have a chat with him myself fills me with the utmost confidence in my new role,” Craig said.
Craig is on hand to take calls from Norco farmers to lend a supportive and empathetic ear.
“It’s important for farmers to know they have someone they can connect with and have a deep understanding of the struggle’s farmers have, this new role will bring greater access to mental health support,” he said.
Craig is eager to start offering support and wants all farmers to be aware that if somebody out there needs to talk, his phone is always on, and his door is wide open.
“I have first-hand experience of the daily life on the farm and enduring the devastating floods.
“I empathise with the constant struggle farmers face and endure, but I aspire to shift our mindset and start a conversation on how we really are.”