Sustainable Farm Families

The Sustainable Farm Families (SFF) program focuses on improving the physical and mental health of farmers and their families. SFF covers a range of areas including: cardiovascular disease cancer stress diabetes women and men’s health farm safety nutrition physical activity anxiety and depression.

Participants receive health assessments as an important part of the workshops and the program is free to all Victorian farmers and their families.

Over 1,000 Victorian farmers have participated in the program so far and 100% would recommend it to other farmers. Workshop content is linked to relevant health issues predominant in farming and rural populations. Benchmark indicators and drivers of farm family health are compiled that can be incorporated into farm business plans and farm benchmarking systems.

The Victorian Department of Primary Industries provided $2.9 million funding to deliver the program to 1,000 Victorian farmers from 2007-08 to 2009-10.

A further $2.18 million funding under the Brumby government’s Future Farming Strategy announced in 2008 will extend the delivery of the SFF program to an additional 500 farmers from 2008-09 to 2011-12. A list of the 20 new locations was announced on 28 April 2009.

Sustainable Farm Families is an initiative of Western District Health Service, Hamilton, and delivered in partnership with the Victorian Department of Primary Industries, with the support of other agencies.

For more information on the project visit the Sustainable Farm Families website (external link) or contact DPI SFF Project Manager Tracey Harper on (03) 5833 5331.