As New Zealanders, we pride ourselves on our hardworking ethic and this speaks volumes to those working within the rural community. Farmers play a crucial role in providing us with healthy and nutritious food, being good stewards of the environment and caring for their livestock daily. With long hours, physical labour and heavy workloads, farmers feel tied to their farm, but the importance of getting off farm is paramount for mental well-being.

On the eastern shores of the North Island, we visited Midway Beach in Gisborne where we witnessed farmers and members of the rural community catch some fun waves with the help of friendly surfing instructors. It’s not every day you hear of farmers trading the farm for the beach, but this is one of the mottos that the mental well-being initiative, Surfing for Farmers, strives to achieve.

Launched in 2018, Surfing for Farmers was started by Gisborne local, Stephen Thomson, after being inspired by a documentary called Resurface that focused on using surfing as a therapeutic method for veterans with PTSD. Stephen wanted to mirror something similar for our New Zealand farmers as a means for them to take a break and refuel their tanks away from the farm.

“The whole idea of Surfing for Farmers was to create and opportunity to get off farm. I think what we’ve done from there is created a habit and given farmers something to look forward to. After all, people want us to come to the regions and then we’re getting good numbers. If people keep coming , we’ll just keep running it. It’s proving inspiration to some farmers and motivating them to come along,” Stephen said.

Surfing for Farmers is now in 21 locations throughout New Zealand. With its fourth year in Gisborne, the well-being initiative is becoming an increasingly popular event for people in the rural community. On average, they get about 30 farmers coming along to their events in Gisborne, with the numbers rising to 50 when the weather is hot and the surf is looking good.

A general outline of a Surfing for Farmers event includes an introduction where farmers will be supplied with a surfboard, wetsuit and some safety guidelines. There is no charge and they usually get a solid hour and a half out in the water. After surfing, they usually have a debrief which is accompanied by some beers and a barbecue.

“We target the farmer, but in any farming business there’s always a good person behind them. Generally, the families come down and if there are enough boards, we don’t mind them having a go. It doesn't matter if it's your first time or 100th time surfing – everyone's welcome,” Stephen said.

Having been brought up on his mum and dad’s farm in Gisborne, Stephen has always loved rural life. He went on to study Agricultural Science at Massey University and when Stephen returned to Gisborne, he got into consultancy work, later switching to a job at Bayley’s Real Estate where he’s been for the last two years. Luckily for Stephen, Surfing for Farmers has some top- notch volunteers that help run events throughout the country, along with one part-timer who does a lot of the organising of events. Stephen runs the Gisborne events but sits at a committee level for the other Surfing for Farmers locations across the country. All events are run purely on sponsorship. There are six main sponsors and around 200 other businesses donating to the initiative.

“At the end of the day, it’s all about the rewards and seeing the growth, and knowing that there are probably people’s lives being saved. So, you just make it work really,” Stephen added.

Stephen says that he’s an average surfer but enjoys everything about it. Being able to switch off and find some downtime out in the water to reset is his favourite thing about it. Surfing for Farmers meet up every Tuesday evening in summer, and it helps Stephen to prioritise getting away from his day-to-day workload as well. Along with surfing, he enjoys all watersport activities – anything involving a bush, a river, an ocean or a lake.

“Surfing for Farmers is continuously expanding with a huge amount of growth happening this year. So, it’s just a matter of keeping the vibe right so that people want to come along and not corporatise it or make it a big deal. You just turn up when you’re ready and come when you can.”

There is a huge need in the rural community to entice farmers to spend more time off farm to help enhance their mental well-being and in turn, improve the quality of their relationships. Surfing for Farmers supports mental health within the farming community using surfing as the compass to steer farmers in the right direction and to promote a fun experience shared with other like-minded individuals.

We spoke with two farmers, Jack and Greg, who have both been attending the Surfing for Farmers event in Gisborne for the past 12 months. The pair work on different farming properties based in Ngatapa, just over 20 minutes from Gisborne and they found out about the initiative as their bosses were right into it.

“Our bosses pushed the boat along and got us all down here, it’s pretty good. It takes your mind off everything else that's happening at home and on farm,” Jack said.

“Everyone was sort of getting into it. It’s good fun, we really enjoy it. It’s good to get away and it’s sort of something you wouldn’t get into otherwise,” Greg added.

We asked Jack and Greg to sum up their Surfing for Farmers experience in three words, and this was their response: good, fun and refreshing.

As a rural community, it’s important to stay connected and find someone to talk to. If you or anyone you know is struggling, free call or text 1737 any time for support from a trained counsellor. Here are some other national helplines provided by Mental Health Foundation New Zealand:

Lifeline – 0800 543 354 (0800 LIFELINE) or free text 4357 (HELP) Suicide Crisis Helpline – 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) Healthline – 0800 611 116 Samaritans – 0800 726 666