Gumboot Cup: Off farm and onto the cricket pitch

Farming has a funny way of convincing you you’ve just got to keep going. One more job. One more fence. One more thing to fix before you stop. And, before you know it, stopping isn’t something you do anymore.

That’s part of the reason I helped organise the Gumboot Cup cricket match here in the Hawke’s Bay. On the surface it was just a game of cricket – a few laughs, a bit of banter, getting the families together and some questionable batting technique. 

But underneath it was about something far more important: getting farmers off farm, together, and giving ourselves permission to breathe.

The pressure on farmers right now is real. Weather, finances, labour shortages, regulations – they all stack up. Stress becomes part of the daily background noise, and too often we treat it as ‘just the way it is’.

I’m a big believer in Farmstrong, which is all about living well to farm well. One of the things which really stuck with me from an ACC-funded study for Farmstrong is that 58 per cent of injured farmers linked their injuries to stress associated with farm work, and a quarter said stress was a major factor. 

That’s a sobering statistic. When your head’s not in the right place, your body often pays the price.

Harry Gaddum is an advocate for the ACC-supported Farmstrong programme.

‘Help arrived – and it changed everything’

Last year alone, 20,000 farmers and growers said their wellbeing improved because of Farmstrong.

That tells me two things. First, a lot of us are under pressure. And second, doing something about it really does make a difference.

I’ve seen that first hand.

Ten days after Cyclone Gabrielle hit, I remember feeling so tired I was ready to keel over. I’d been running on pure adrenaline, racing around trying to get things sorted.

It was hard, physical graft – carrying deer netting, posts, warratahs, whatever needed moving. I was absolutely stuffed. The days blurred together, and everything we worked on seemed to disappear just as fast as we fixed it.

Then one Sunday morning, help arrived – and it changed everything.

A stock agent, a family friend, turned up with a trailer load of fencing gear. He lit the fire again and we got stuck in. There was a bit of fence on our main laneway that had really been getting to me. It felt like a symbol of everything that was wrong.

He just said, ‘Let’s attack that bit.’

It didn’t take much. Just him being there, a bit of motivation and someone from outside the farm to talk to. He stayed a couple of days, and it was massive for my headspace.

Not long after that, another crew from Manawatū turned up and helped tackle some slips. 

Then one day, completely out of the blue, a 20-ton digger appeared at the end of our driveway. It had been organised through a mate. Sitting in the cab was a box of grease and a note that said, ‘Best of luck with it all Harry.’

The power of connection

Those moments reminded me how powerful connection is.

Farming can be isolating at the best of times. After a disaster, that isolation can feel overwhelming.

That’s what the Gumboot Cup was all about.

It wasn’t about winning or losing. It was about showing up. It was about having a yarn with someone who gets it, because they’re living it too. It was about laughing at a dropped catch or a wild swing and remembering you’re more than the problems waiting back at the gate.

Taking time off farm isn’t weakness. It’s maintenance – just like greasing a bearing or fixing a race before it blows out completely.

When we ignore stress, it doesn’t just stay in our heads. It shows up in injuries, mistakes and burnout.

ACC’s support of Farmstrong matters because prevention matters. If getting together for a game of cricket helps even one farmer reset, refocus or realise they’re not on their own, then it was worth every minute.

The Gumboot Cup reminded us the farm will still be there when we get back – and we’re in a better state to look after it when we have some time out with mates. 

Farming injuries by the numbers 

In 2025, ACC accepted 16,325 work-related agricultural claims at a cost of $109 million to help people recover. 

Over the past five years, ACC has supported farmers with 1.5 million days of weekly compensation (days off work) at a cost of $209 million. 

The leading regions in 2025 for work-related agricultural claims were Waikato (2,660), Canterbury (2,376), Hawke’s Bay (1,443), Southland (1,414) and Bay of Plenty (1,404).

ACC announced its continued support of the Farmstrong programme late last year. 

The renewed investment will see $2.7 million invested into the programme over the next two years, as the first phase of a five-year agreement ($6.8 million total).

For more information, visit the Farmstrong website.

Farmstrong – Live Well Farm Well