Man in demand: The Unbreakable Farmer Warren Davies is about to embark on a month-long series of speaking engagements that will see him take in four states as his mental health message becomes a much sought-after product among industry, business and community leaders.
Rochester flood victims had the chance to hear the inspirational story of Kyabram’s Warren Davies when he stepped in as an impromptu speaker at a men’s wellbeing event in January.
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Since then, the Kyabram man who has become known Australia-wide as The Unbreakable Farmer has been engaged by industry, business and community groups to share his philosophies on mental health and dealing with adversity.
He was back among familiar faces last week when he spoke at the Stanhope-Girgarre Farmers’ Day, launching him into the month of August where he has 20 speaking engagements
“At one point, in successive days, I will be in Brisbane, on Kangaroo Island and in the Blue Mountains,” Mr Davies said.
“King Island is an ag conference, Hannafords in the Blue Mountains and Ray White Rural in Brisbane.”
Mr Davies has just completed a presentation at OLAM orchards in Mildura where, after several tough seasons, management had staff listen to the stories of Mr Davies’ experiences on the land.
He said a recent farmer wellbeing report had shown 80 per cent of farmers were struggling with mental health and he hoped, in some small way, he could play a part in helping those people.
Mr Davies has plans to further develop his brand by producing courses and workshops for those interesting in adopting his techniques.
He will be the key speaker at a Kyabram event on August 11 which will be hosted by Lockington’s Brad McEwan
“That will be my first full-on public gig in Kyabram since I started,” he said.
Mr Davies has spent six years as a part-time inspirational speaker.
He was at the Stanhope-Girgarre event alongside a range of service providers, including Campaspe Shire’s new flood recovery officers Larna Tarrant and Liz Wells.
Ms Tarrant has a background is law and is the former chair of Echuca Regional Health, where she spent nine years on the board.
She is a former Rochester Secondary College student and grew up on a farm at Diggora.
Ms Wells is originally from Bendigo and was introduced to the Rochester community through her role as an Anglicare case manager.
“I saw the impact and the community resilience and I wanted to invest a bit more into that. We expect to be very busy in the role,” she said.
Ms Tarrant and Ms Wells will be servicing the entire shire and are currently putting together a “plan of attack”.
Last week was their first public event and they took the opportunity to introduce themselves to the shire.
They will be moving throughout the shire every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, while their primary base is at the Mackay St flood recovery hub in Rochester.
Helping hand: Campaspe Shire flood recovery officers Larna Tarrant (left) and Liz Wells (right) with Stanhope-Girgarre Farmers’ Day organiser Kezia Talbot last week.
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