ACC and partners celebrate rural wellbeing programme Farmstrong
A new agreement between rural insurer FMG, the Mental Health Foundation and ACC to oversee the next five years of rural wellbeing programme Farmstrong was celeb
Farmstrong helps farmers and their families cope with the ups and downs of farming by sharing skills to farm well, live well and get the most out of life.
It was launched by FMG and the Mental Health Foundation in June 2015. We joined as a strategic partner in 2016 and have now strengthened our involvement.
Speaking at the recent signing ceremony, FMG CEO Chris Black said: “This partnership is a golden triangle of a very positive kind. Farmstrong’s a really important cause, it’s well thought through, and it’s making a tangible difference to the lives of farmers and their families. Our FMG team is very proud to be associated with it.
“ACC joined as a strategic partner in 2016 and it’s exciting that they’ll be more closely involved from now on. We’ve already had five years of a great story, now it’s about moving forward and making even more of a difference.”
Our Chief Customer Officer Emma Powell said: “We share a similar sense of pride in Farmstrong, not just for the change it is affecting and its growing success, but also for what it’s taught us as an organisation. We see Farmstrong as a flagship exemplar of how to partner with others and work to prevent injury.”
Mental Health Foundation CEO Shaun Robinson added: “I think the key to Farmstrong’s success has been the strength of this strategic partnership. Having ACC more closely involved is awesome.
“The research that Farmstrong has completed to demonstrate the tangible impact of increased wellbeing on preventing injury is world-leading. I think this work is going to resonate for many years to come.”
Farmstrong is well-established in rural New Zealand with 71% awareness among farmers, over 10,000 fans on Facebook and nearly 250,000 visitors to its website over the past four years.
It began with a target audience of 78,000 farm owners, managers and employees and aims to reach 107,000 people working in agriculture over the next five years.
An annual survey of 450 farmers in 2020 found that:
- 27% of farmers and farm workers (over 18,000) had engaged with Farmstrong in the past year
- 22% (more than 11,000) attributed an improvement in their wellbeing to Farmstrong
- 13% (more than 6,500) reported Farmstrong had reduced the amount of time their work was impaired by an injury.
From left: Shaun Robinson, CEO, Mental Health Foundation, Emma Powell, Chief Customer Officer, ACC and Chris Black, CEO, Farmers Mutual Group.
The team behind Farmstrong at the signing of the governance agreement at FMG headquarters in Wellington.
