Thanks to support from the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR), NEX Business Farming Wellness is launching REAL Rural Conversations, a new initiative delivered through its Detect & Protect wellness program to help trusted rural workers turn moments of concern into practical pathways to support.
The REAL Rural Conversations program is a free workshop delivered across Gippsland and surrounding areas for people who regularly work within or alongside the agriculture and farming communities.
The workshops are aimed at stock agents, livestock transporters, agronomists, veterinarians, contractors, rural retailers, farming partners and community members who can often notice when something doesn't seem quite right. They already have trusted relationships and regular conversations but may not be comfortable if someone opens up about their mental health and wellbeing.
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Picture this.
It's Monday morning. You're exhausted and would rather stay in bed on this cold, windy day. But farmers are relying on your delivery, so you make a cuppa, get ready for work, check your run sheet and grab the keys.
First stop, John's Dairy.
A smile comes to your face. It's been a while since your last delivery there and you always enjoy the drive up to the farm. The view across the valley never gets old, and John is quite the character. He's always full of good stories, quick with a joke, and never misses the chance for a quick chat while you're unloading.
As you pull into the yard, you spot John's tractor heading towards the shed.
The engine stays running.
He climbs down, gives you a quiet nod and starts unloading.
No joke about the weather.
No story about the weekend.
No chat.
Just silence.
You work together like you always have. When you're finished, you tell John you'll send the invoice through and thank him for his business.
He looks at you for a moment, gives a faint nod, climbs back into the tractor and drives away.
Something doesn't sit right. On the drive home, John's face keeps coming back to you. In all the years you've known him, you've never seen him so quiet, so distant, so unlike himself.
Maybe I should have said something? Asked if he was okay.
Maybe I should have had a REAL conversation.
But how?
And if he'd said he wasn't okay... would I have known what to do next?
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Introducing REAL Rural Conversations.
The team at NEX will deliver REAL Rural Conversations across Gippsland in October to build practical skills and confidence to start respectful conversations around stress and wellbeing, and know what to do next.
Participants will learn how to have REAL conversations:
Recognise when something does not seem right.
Engage with confidence.
Acknowledge what you are hearing.
Link people with the right support.
REAL Rural Conversations is not about training people to be counsellors. It is about giving trusted people practical skills they can use every day.
Because you do not need all the answers.
You just need to notice, ask, listen and know where support begins.
One conversation may not solve everything, but it can be the moment someone realises they are not facing it alone.
Register here
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