Apr 3, 2024 12:25pm

By Stephanie Schmidt

8 min read

March Monthly Trailmarker

Hello dear reader

Welcome to the Monthly Trailmarker. I'll be honest with you. This has been in draft for the last three weeks, as I wasn't confident it really added value to your inbox. However, I realised I was the one getting in my own way, so here it is —The Monthly Trailmarker for Steph Schmidt - Farm Life Psych —

After a whirlwind Easter long weekend (which included relaxing at our creek on Good Friday, a quick trip to Adelaide to see cousins on Saturday, a trip to our second property on Sunday/Monday - which was then extended after my son had an injury climbing over a fence) I'm finally back in the office to get some computer work done - with only 2 weeks to go until school holidays. And the juggle of school holidays and seeding time hits - I'm sure you can relate!

TL;DR (The important stuff if you don't read the rest)

Will I be seeing you at Beef Week? Book your tickets for ANZ Tender Steaks and Tough Talks
There is an increasing interest and need in farming mental health skills building and awareness, but how do we make it work? I'm still reflecting on the NFF Farming Mental Health Forum. If you were there, hit reply and let me know your thoughts.
Farm Life Psych Podcast incoming - keep an eye out, planned to hit your ears by the end of April
Last days to watch Just A Farmer movie - I highly recommend, especially to those who aren't farmers - find your local cinema here

What's been keeping me busy?

I delivered three Farmflex sessions in February, a Livestock SA initiative thanks to funding from PIRSA. Across three sessions at Clare and Murray Bridge, I spoke with producers, agents, and other ag industry members about how the brain works, why we think the way we do, and how to deal with stress when things are, well, stressful.

I've had a lot of thoughts about these sessions (that may make it into a LinkedIn newsletter soon - or the blog). One thing that really stuck with me though... a comment from an agent at Murray Bridge.

"We don't need any more any awareness, we are all pretty damn aware - but we need skills in what we can actually do."

I have been spurred on by feedback that the sessions were helpful, and people walked away with some actionable takeaways to better deal with on-farm stress.

I'm in early conversations with a couple of councils across Australia to facilitate wellbeing workshops, focusing on capacity building rather than more mental health awareness. This conversation is so important and I'm excited to bring these projects to life.

In order to manage the juggle of farm, family and life - I'll be tailoring my offerings down to focus primarily on Online Trainings for your business or community, as well as a small availability for in-person speaking and workshop engagements for the rest of 2024.

Find out more about working with me here - www.stephschmidt.com.au/services

National Farmers Federation Farming Mental Health Forum

On Wednesday 20th March, Alex Thomas and I (and the incredible Oli), did a whirlwind day to Melbourne to attend the NFF Farming Mental Health Forum. While I slammed back into the reality of the farm/life juggle, I haven't been able to sufficiently unwind my thoughts from the day. But here are a few reflections I shared on LinkedIN

Shanna Whan, Dr Alison Kennedy, and Alex Thomas - three incredible women leading change in farming and rural mental health and wellbeing.

ACT for Ag or Steph Schmidt

I'm in the process of brand evolution. What does this mean? I'm acknowledging that I can't do it all, letting go of a few of my big-picture dreams (for now), and leaning into Steph Schmidt as the brand instead. I'm embracing my work in speaking, workshop facilitation, guest content creation, and my own content creation - as a way to facilitate change across farming mental health. (At the same time, I acknowledge my own time limitations as I attempt to juggle farm, family, life, and my own business baby.)

My workshops, ACT for Ag, continue and are designed to promote mental health and psychological flexibility among farmers and agribusinesses.

What's Coming Up?

My podcast!

Yep, it's definitely coming. While I attempted a Little Rocks podcast about two years ago, this one will be completely fresh, so look out for "Farm Life Psych with Steph Schmidt" in mid-April.

Working with Kirsten Diprose (of Rural Podcasting Co and Ducks on the Pond) has been wonderful to brainstorm ideas that will make the podcast shine and serve.

To get cracking, I'll be revisiting the Change The Picture campaign, delving into the themes raised by each of the wonderful 50+ women who contributed to the movement. I'll be hitting the go button on this by the end of April (hopefully), so keep an eye and an ear out.

The podcast - Farm Life Psych with Steph Schmidt- will be available across all your favourite podcast platforms, and will be dropping weekly.

Don't want to miss any podcast news - click here and I'll make sure to keep you updated

A peek behind the curtain in podcast planning....The podcast will run as a 10-episode series with a mix of solo episodes, guest episodes, and perhaps my favourite, "Pause with Steph," where we will dive into some practical, hands-on strategies to improve your well-being. Oh, and my other favourite segment, "Ask Steph?" Think Dolly Doctor, but for all things farming mental health.

Topics I'm playing around with: "Navigating the farm life juggle - what does it really look like?"; Wellbeing vs Mental Health/Illness - when to get help, what does that look like, how to help others to get help; Making relationships work on the farm; Expectations/Resentment and everything in between.

Have a burning issue that you want to make sure I cover in Season 1? Or want to submit a question for Ask Steph?

Submit your Ask Steph Question

What's Happening on the Farm?

Shearing, preparation for seeding, a little bit of cultivating, the annual farm shed clean out, and preparing and onboarding new employees. As always, the farm continues to chug along and keep us busy. Here in SA, we are very dry and hoping for rain soon to get started with seeding. My husband remains optimistic that a dry summer is not a bad thing for a wet winter.

We will be kicking off seeding in a matter of days, which will absorb all time and energy on the farm until mid June or so. In some ways, I'm looking forward to seeding time, as the lead-up to seeding always feels a bit more uncertain, a bit more inconsistent. Pre-seeding Tension, Pre-Harvest Stress, they almost need an acronym of their own.

Is anyone else feeling a bit of PST?

A current view of the farm.

What I'm Reading, Listening To, and Thinking About

What I'm Reading: I've just finished "The Upside of Your Dark Side" by Todd Kashdan and Robert Biswas-Diener. A fantastic read, highlighting why our whole self matters - and includes provoking discussions around why we need mindlessness as well as mindfulness; the benefits of "The Dark Triad" (Macchiavellism, narcissism, and psychopathy - highlighting how small amounts of these characteristics are beneficial for pursuing goals, influencing and motivating others, and taking risks.

What I'm Listening to: I've been using Insight Timer more regularly to help me with daily mindfulness/meditation practices. A favourite is often a Yoga Nidra practice before sleep. This has the additional benefit of having Insight Timer as the first thing on my phone when I open it the next day, which can then help me to do a brief mindfulness or breathing exercise first thing in the morning.

What I'm thinking about: Finding time to sit down and write has been hard to come by, and procrastination possibly plays a part in this. Something that is constantly on my mind at the moment continues to be my book. I'm playing with ideas around content and structure, but most likely, it's working out to be a nonfiction "self-help" book for navigating farm life and all of the joys and struggles that come along with it.

As I reflect on the first quarter of 2024, I circle back to my Word of the Year - Embrace. So far, this is a year where I very much am trying to embrace the challenges, let go of expectations that aren't serving me, and hold on to how I truly want to show up. This never comes easy, and I have found myself struggling a lot at times this year. One thing I hold on to is the reminder "This Too Shall Pass", whether in good times or bad, it's a reminder that I've come back to many times in life.

So, I'll leave you with that for this month, and maybe a prompt of reflection.

If you hold lightly to the phrase "this too shall pass," how does that help, shape, support, and challenge how you are currently travelling?

If you've read this far, thank you! I hope you've enjoyed the update.

All the best for the month ahead, and as always,

Take care of YOU,

Steph x

Apr 3, 2024 12:25pm

By Stephanie Schmidt

Under News & Monthly Newsletter

8 min read

March Monthly Trailmarker

National Farmers Federation Farming Mental Health Forum

ACT for Ag or Steph Schmidt

My podcast!

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