Australian Dairy Conference 2025: Sarah Crosthwaite on farmer mental health

Victorian dairy farmer Sarah Crosthwaite says the industry needs to put the concept of “mentally fit farmers” front and centre. Find out why.

With a background as both a dairy farmer and mental health counsellor, Sarah Crosthwaite has a unique perspective on what makes primary producers tick.

Alongside husband Stuart, the Nuffield scholar has operated a dairy farm in Victoria’s Kiewa Valley for the past two decades, running 500 Friesian cattle over 1500 acres.

While at an industry level, the Crosthwaites are best known as founding members of the Mountain Milk Co-op, Sarah’s work in farmer mental health has been appreciated across the sector.

As one of the speakers at this year’s Australian Dairy Conference, Sarah told The Weekly Times her presentation focused on “mentally fit farmers.”

“Being a mentally fit farmer doesn’t just mean exercise, good nutrition and reducing alcohol — although those things are important,” she said.

“What I focused on things that farmers can do for themselves to keep mentally fit. Financial literacy, upskilling on financial matters, because when things go awry due to a drought or a flood, that places financial burdens on farmers which can then impact mental health.

“A business plan, having a growth mindset — when you see a challenge, you work on it rather than throwing your hands in the air and saying: ‘it’s all too hard’.”

Sarah was recognised for her work in The Weekly Times 2023 Shine Awards for her work in mental health awareness and research.

Less than a decade ago, she was studying to be a counsellor and working at Lifeline when the Murray Goulburn/Fonterra 2016 price clawback hit

Her research as a Nuffield scholar took her to Canada, New Zealand and elsewhere to assess how other nations provide mental health support to farmers and what methods could be best applied to Australia.

“So much in mental health support for farmers has changed in the past couple of years,” Sarah says. “There’s this perception that there are few programs available but now with a quick Google search, there’s so much more on offer.

“There’s no pressure quite like dairy farming. It isn’t a 9-to-5 job, there’s external pressure from the weather, from commodity markets — many variables, so having those mechanisms in place to deal with those challenges is so important for farmer mental health.”