Fat Farmers: bettering rural Australian’s mental and physical health

It’s National Farm Safety Week (20–26 July) and Fat Farmers General/Community Engagement Manager, Michael Williams, is sharing how their initiative is transforming the health and wellbeing of Aussie farmers. Learn where you can join or what you can do to create your own Fat Farmers group.

How it began

The Fat Farmers initiative started in 2012 when three farmers, Greg Hean, Ben Wundersitz and Scott Hoyle (all from properties near Maitland on Yorke Peninsula, SA) started gym workouts together to improve their general fitness.

“It was a classic tale of three blokes over 40 realising they’d become fat since giving up on their footy careers and deciding they wanted to do something about it,” Michael said.

“They jokingly referred to themselves as the ‘fat farmers’, and the name stuck as their group began to grow.”

In 2015, the Fat Farmer mission expanded beyond Yorke Peninsula, across SA and more recently, into Victoria and NSW.

“Today we have over 28 groups, ranging in size from approximately 6–30 members,” Michael said.

“Most are in SA, with three in Victoria and one in NSW – we also have one that’s just about to kick off in Queensland.”

Farmer benefits

The initial motivator behind Fat Farmers was to improve farmers’ physical health but Michael said improving mental health for those who participate is equally important.

“Farming comes with some tough times and it’s unfortunately one of those jobs where it’s not always easy to draw a solid line between work and home,” Michael said.

“Farming also comes with a level of isolation and that can have a really negative impact on one’s mental wellbeing.

“A big part of the initiative is simply about getting farmers off-farm in a way that gives them a breather from work but also benefits their health and wellbeing.

“And there’s no right way to do that. It can be a gym session but it can also be going on a walk or run together. It can even be playing a casual game of touch or tennis,” he said.

“It very much replicates the sporting camaraderie many producers lose when they no longer play for their local club. It’s a chance to go into town, get together with your mates, do something active and spend a bit of time catching up with one another.”

Michael said the testimonials he’s received highlight just how important getting off the farm, becoming active and being social has been for both the farmers involved and their loved ones.

“We’ve had people reach out to share with us that their involvement in the initiative provided the opportunity for them to turn their health around – avoiding some serious health events like a heart attack or a type II diabetes diagnosis.

“We’ve also had partners get in touch with us to tell us this initiative reinvigorated their loved one who was in a dark place and had been previously feeling quite isolated.”

Some South Australian Fat Farmer’s groups at the annual City to Bay Fun Run.

How can you get involved?

You don’t have to be a fat farmer to get involved.

“Even though the initiative is focused around improving the physical and mental wellbeing of local farmers, there are no restrictions stopping people who live in town from joining or people who already engage in healthy activities.

“The initiative’s focus is about connecting with others, so there are no limits on who can get involved.

“We have a number of groups who are championed by someone who lives in town. We have others that include women and kids. We also have some that are made up of blokes who were already pretty active, but they wanted to escape that on-farm isolation.”

 To join your local fitness group or start your own, visit the Fat Farmers page.

“There’s a pre-exercise screening tool on the page which we ask farmers who are new to exercise, or who have had some time away from exercise, to complete before getting involved,” Michael said.

“The screening tool will identify whether or not you should check in with your GP before getting involved.

“There’s also a map showing our current group locations and the contact person for each group. If your region is not on the map, then you’re welcome to get in touch with me.”

The Kadina, SA Fat Farmers group together for a gym session. 

Fat Farmers – what’s next?

Fat Farmers has made plans to expand and invest in pop-up health clinics.

“We want to make sure our regional towns get more access to general health services, such as blood pressure and skin cancer checks,” Michael said.

“Earlier this year, we were on the road with the University of SA Skin Check Foundation for six weeks. It reinforced the importance of providing services and initiatives that support the health and wellbeing of rural Australians.

“Because they are so isolated from emergency health services, these travelling clinics back our goal of encouraging preventative actions to keep farmers and others living in remote communities, well.”