Half of NZ farmers report wellbeing concerns affecting their mental health. Younger farmers report higher again. The drivers are weather and commodity volatility, isolation, fatigue and an industry culture that has historically struggled with help-seeking. The response needs to be structural.
The evidence
52%
of NZ farmers said their concerns were affecting their mental health and wellbeing in January 2024. Improved from 69% six months earlier but still over half.
Federated Farmers Farm Confidence Survey, January 2024
64% / 77%
of younger NZ farming men and women respectively reported at least one wellbeing issue had a large impact on their life.
Farmstrong-commissioned young farmer wellbeing survey, ~900 respondents
17,000+
work-related agriculture injury claims accepted by ACC in 2024. Recovery cost ~$120 million. Many linked to fatigue, stress or psychological strain.
ACC / Minister for Agriculture, 2025
What it looks like
In Aotearoa's primary sector, burnout shows up in places office workforces do not: decisions made at four in the morning that should have been made at four in the afternoon, injury claims that trace back to fatigue, relationships at home eroding under cumulative stress, long days running into long seasons, and, in the worst cases, rural suicides the country only learns about after the fact.
Federated Farmers' January 2024 survey found 52% of farmers said their concerns were affecting their mental health, a Farmstrong young-farmer survey found 64% of younger farming men and 77% of younger farming women had at least one wellbeing issue with a large impact on their life, and ACC recorded more than 17,000 work-related agriculture claims in 2024 at around $120 million. For owners, directors and people leaders, most of the workforce isn't in an HR system that will catch the warning signs, and those most at risk are often the owner-operators themselves. Resilience training won't move the dial. The drivers are conditions.
The drivers
Commodity prices, interest rates, climate shocks and regulatory change compound into sustained financial pressure that the rest of the economy rarely sees. Federated Farmers' commentary has consistently identified financial concerns as the leading driver. Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 to 2024 interest rate peak compounded an already fragile position.
Geographic isolation, sole operator structures and livestock or seasonal commitments mean farmers and growers often can't take a break even when they need one. The Farmstrong programme exists precisely because the structural conditions of rural work make help-seeking and recovery harder than in urban workforces.
ACC data shows over 17,000 work-related agriculture injury claims in 2024. Many are linked to fatigue, stress or psychological strain. The line between physical and psychological safety is thinner in the primary sector than in any other.
How we help
3 Big Things works with primary sector businesses across Aotearoa: agribusinesses, dairy operators, horticultural growers, packhouses, viticulture and forestry. We understand the rural operating context: seasonality, commodity exposure, regulatory change, the difference between large corporates and family-owned operations, and the particular challenge of supporting a workforce that doesn't sit at a desk.
Identify the structural drivers in your workforce with psychosocial hazard assessment aligned to ISO 45003 and WorkSafe NZ guidance, designed for the realities of a primary sector workforce: seasonal patterns, dispersed teams, owner-operator dynamics, and the cumulative effect of financial and weather pressure.
Equip your leaders, including the leaders who are also the owners with coaching and people leader development designed for the primary sector. In owner-operated and family businesses, the leader is often the most at-risk person on the team. We design support that recognises that.
Provide registered-psychologist support that works for rural workforces with confidential clinical support delivered with awareness of the rural context: telehealth options, after-hours availability, and a clinical model that is complementary to community-based programmes like Farmstrong and Rural Support Trust, not in competition with them.
We understand the financial and operational reality of running a primary sector business in Aotearoa. We design our work around it.
Talk to us