Alone on the land
Is social media replacing traditional face-to-face interaction in rural communities? Lawrence Gullery examines the pros and cons of the online world through the farming generations.
Atrail of dust follows Philip Dench’s motorbike as he rides up to the milking shed in the baking sun. He steps off his bike wearing boots, shorts, a singlet, cap and sunglasses.
It is hard to figure out what he is thinking behind those sunglasses but that is the way he likes it.
‘‘I have to know the person first, I won’t talk to a stranger, no way,’’ Philip says.
He is referring to the various helplines available for farmers dealing with the challenges of working on the land, dealing with depression, dealing with anxiety.
‘‘It is hard for farmers to talk, quite hard. For me anyway, I am not that sort of person, I do not put my troubles out there, so that is the issue. I cannot ring up a stranger on the phone and say: hey I am in trouble. I just put my head down and go and do some fencing.’’
A few days earlier, we had contacted the Waikato farmer to talk about how he was working through the dry weather.
Farmers are well-known for pitching in and helping their neighbours in times of trouble but for the older generation, like Philip, social media and the online world has changed things.
‘‘I have not talked to my neighbours for a while. With the internet now, you hardly see your neighbours because everyone is using social media.
‘‘We used to have regular catchups, have a good yack over a couple of beers, sort of put your troubles on the table. Then you realise they are in the same boat as you and you leave feeling a bit better. Now, you feel more depressed because you are locked into our own little area, your house, on your farm.’’
Philip says there are still farm discussion groups going, which he used to enjoy, but the next generation of farmers are operating on social media.
‘‘I am not on Facebook because I am too old. That is how I am feeling, left out on my own, just one of those doddering old farmers.’’
Philip is a huge Waikato rugby fan so when he and wife Sharon upgraded their milking shed a few years ago, he had the three main doors painted red, black and yellow. Their family farm, Crossroads, just south of Te Awamutu, now runs more efficiently, thanks to automation technology.
It cuts back on the time it takes to milk their 750 cows, making life easier for their animals and the farm’s three staff.
It also helps the farm reuse its green water, to wash down the feed pad and to use as irrigation on paddocks. Handy when there is a stretch of dry weather.
Philip is able to capture much of the data generated from the new milking system on his phone.
It is information which can help him track the productivity of the herd and help him make key management decisions.
‘‘I do not mind technology but I just cannot get into things like Facebook. I cannot see the point.
‘‘I know my staff are on it but to me it is a waste of time. I would sooner talk to someone, one-on-one.
‘‘So many people are not able to communicate properly with each other now because it is too easy just to go on social media.’’
Philip says he finds it difficult to talk to Sharon about some of the challenges that may be ahead for the family farm.
There are endless reports to file, regulations to comply with and the mounting public pressure for farmers to improve their environmental practices.
DairyNZ and other organisations have programmes and initiatives to help farmers navigate their way through these challenges but for Philip, it is too
aspirational or high level.
‘‘There are bits and pieces out there to help but you try and call them and you cannot get a hold of the suckers anyway.
‘‘You have to email a week in advance and half the time they do not turn up.
‘‘When you are in trouble, you are in trouble now and you need help.’’
One example is the current stretch of dry weather, compounded by the delay in meat exports to China because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Farmers trying to destock face lengthy waiting times to get their animals processed at the meat works.
‘‘We always plan ahead but with this weather, it has come on very suddenly.
‘‘How do you plan for that?’’ When things get tough, Philip prefers meeting in smaller groups, from around his community, people he knows and can trust.
But neighbourhood catchups are more difficult now because a lot of rural community halls have shut down around the Waikato. And he reckons there is probably only about one other older-generation farmer, like him, left on his road.
Hunting or bush walking are other avenues to release some of the pressure.
But getting time away from the farm is the best solution. It is also the most difficult.
‘‘When I was younger, I was working 24/7 trying to get ahead.
‘‘It was day-to-day living and looking back I probably should have taken some time off.
‘‘For the first time in 30 years, I had Christmas off last year, away with the grandchildren.
‘‘It took me about three days to unwind, then I had a few days off before getting back into it.’’
He says the hardest part was letting go of the farm’s day-to-day operation.
‘‘It is about having enough confidence in my staff that I can let go because, in the back of my mind, I know this farm is my livelihood.
‘‘If something happens to the farm, my staff won’t have a job.
‘‘It is pretty damn simple. It is hard for a lot of cow-cockies to let go for that reason.’’
It is easy to see Philip cares for his cows as much as he cares for his staff. Some have been given nicknames and he points a few out as the cows head down the race and turn into the milking shed.
‘‘The cows, they are like my babies. I have reared them from when they were calves right through.’’
Caring for staff and animals are at the top of his list when it comes to offering advice to younger farmers.
‘‘Keep working but look after your cows. If you look after your cows, your cows will look after you.
‘‘If you need help, talk to someone. Just go and see your neighbour, see your bank manager, see someone you trust. That is the only thing to do.’’
Speaking to each other is a skill people are starting to lose, former police officer now consultant and author Lance Burdett reckons.
‘‘Social media is actually antisocial. It disconnects people because it is superficial, because there is no emotional attachment.
‘‘There is some great research which shows social media displaces people and causes people to feel alienated.’’
Lance worked as a crisis negotiator and instructor for the police for 13 years, specialising in suicide intervention and predicting violent behaviour.
He has been asked by groups such as Ag Proud NZ to present to rural communities, to offer farmers tips and tools on responding to emergencies and communicating in difficult situations.
‘‘People have always communicated with each other, face-to-face. Now we have phones with super-computers on them and because of that, we do not meet or talk to each other as much.
‘‘Socialising and communicating is hard-wired into our brains, and if we do not get our daily dose of interaction, we become isolated and feel alone.’’
Lance bases his presentations on study and research into neuroscience, emotional intelligence, human behaviour and dynamics.
He says rural people do not congregate at their local sales yards like they used to. There are fewer agricultural shows around now. Fewer are meeting at the pub to have a chat about the daily challenges of working on the farm.
Lance says research shows men are over-represented in depression and suicide figures, especially those working in construction and farming.
He has also noticed younger men are better at talking with each other than the older generation.
‘‘So many things are out of their control but what we can do, is take it back to what you can control.
‘‘That involves sitting down and coming up with a risk management plan. Get together with your neighbours, expand the plan, start helping each other.
‘‘When you start doing this, you are giving your brain something practical to work on.’’
Lance attended Te Rapa Primary School in Hamilton and spent his first year of secondary school at the city’s Fraser High School. He returned to Hamilton earlier in his police career, to head the CIB for six months.
His work often brings him back to his ‘‘second home’’ in the Waikato, presenting for the Rural Support Trust or consulting for local government organisations, including Hamilton city and Waipa¯ district councils.
He has a new book coming out this year, based on his experiences presenting forums around the country. ‘‘I have written a chapter on farming and construction, looking at why those two are overrepresented in suicide and providing some solutions for them.’’
Ag Proud NZ co-founder Jon Pemberton says not many genuine conversations are held on social media. ‘‘You will probably find there are more lonely people now than what there were 30 years ago because of social media.
‘‘People are on it, not really portraying what is going on in their lives.’’
Ag Proud NZ holds regular events in city centres around New Zealand. It is designed to provide a chance for city folk to meet a farmer and find out first-hand what happens on their farm.
‘‘You must have those one-onone conversations, that is why we have these farmer engagement events in cities.
‘‘You know that the farmers who do make an effort to come into town and talk to people, really want to make a difference.’’
Jon uses social media as a tool to publicise the trust’s events aimed at bringing rural people together.
Waikato-Hauraki-Coromandel Rural Support Trust chairperson Neil Bateup says he does not use Facebook but knows young farmers like to use social media to connect and keep up to date with events.
‘‘The trust has a Facebook page and a Instagram page which we use to post about the things we are doing; it is well used by our younger farmers.
‘‘But I understand where he [Philip Dench] is coming from.
‘‘A lot of the places you used to go for social events have closed down. Sports clubs are struggling, some RSAs are struggling, community halls are not there.
‘‘It comes down to personal contact, people need social interaction for their own mental health and wellbeing.’’
Neil says organisations like Farm Source, Wrightsons PGA and Farmlands hold regular catchup events for people to join.
The trust was trying more ‘‘popup events’’ in rural communities as a way to connect face-to-face with people.
Hayden van der Poel is a contract dairy farmer near Temple View, southwest of Hamilton.
The 25-year-old is the Te Kawa West Young Farmers Club chairperson and reckons the way farmers socialise has changed over the years.
‘‘We only go to the pub once a month and that is usually for an organised, formal event for our Young Farmers club.
‘‘If we go out to socialise, it is usually at someone’s place, so if we drink, we have got the option of staying overnight.’’
Hayden says he uses social media to reach a wider audience, to canvas opinion and find information.
But meeting people face-to-face was still important for Young Farmers.
‘‘It is human interaction more than anything else, it is more personal than social media.’’
People can join Young Farmers at 18 years of age, through to 31.
‘‘Hopefully by then people have developed a good network of people they can socialise with outside of Young Farmers.’’
NZ Farming is the name of the Facebook page set up as a place for isolated young farmers to connect.
One of the administrators, Canterbury deer farmer Duncan Humm, says nothing beats face-toface contact but there needs to be other options for people who cannot get off the farm and into town.
‘‘Having someone at the end of the phone to yarn to is huge.
‘‘For me, sometimes I take stock of my day and realise I have interacted with a lot of people over social media and wonder how isolated I would feel if I did not have that.’’
Duncan says he understands how difficult it is for the older generation to come to grips with social media.
‘‘But one thing we have noticed is that our demographics [followers of the page] have changed and we have got a lot more older people becoming involved.
‘‘Even my retired uncles and aunties have taken to it like ducks to water but I do realise there are plenty of people out there who are not into it.’’
Duncan says a small group of administrators volunteer their time to keep the page running.
Ideally, he would like to see the group become involved in field days events around the country, taking social media into the real world. ‘‘If money and time were not a problem, I would definitely love to do that.’’