A daughter and wife of a farmer knows all too well the importance of building resilience in farming communities.
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Ginny Stevens was concerned with the increasing levels of depression and suicide in rural areas in the Riverina, and across the country, so she established the organisation Active Farmers.
Active Farmers reaches out to regional Australians and offers them the opportunity to engage with each other on exercise programs that are designed to improve mental and physical health.
"It stands to reason that just like the cows and sheep we tend to, we're also gregarious animals so connecting not only to the land but to each other is important to our overall physical and mental wellbeing," Mrs Stevens said.
"Some farmers lead sedentary lives and due to the nature of their work, a grower can be sitting on a tractor or a harvester all day, every day.
"Not only is it demanding, it's also lonely work."
Riding for Resilience was the inaugural cycling event for Active Farmers and on September 15, a mix of farmers and individuals completed a challenging three-day ride. The 400-kilometre journey from Forbes finished in Mangoplah and each of the 36 riders involved were responsible for raising a targeted amount.
Over $110,000 was raised and Coleambally farmer Joe Briggs achieved the highest amount of $30,000.
"The old age theory that 'she'll be right' no longer applies ... there comes a time when it's not alright and that time is now," he said.
