The knowledge of women who farm: Drought in the Goulburn Valley, Australia, 2006-2010.

1. Janet Congues
PhD Student
The Australian National University
Australia

2. Goulburn Valley
Melbourne, Victoria

3. • Introduced risk management approach in 1992
• Drought removed from the Natural Disaster Relief Arrangements
• Farmers to manage for drought as they would any other risk to
their business
• Drought Policy Review 2004
• Exceptional Circumstance Declaration triggered if:
1. Drought was extreme
2. Drought considered a once in a lifetime event
3. Downturn in production impacting significantly on
agricultural economics
• Drought Policy Review 2008
• Scientific, social and economic review
• Drought could no longer be considered an aberration but a
normal aspect of Australia’s climate variability.

4. • National Drought Policy places onus on people
who farmed to manage for drought individually
• Suicide statistics suggest one male farmer
suicided every four days
• Federal Government declares most of Australia
is experiencing Exceptional Circumstances
• Victorian State Government announces drought
package that includes funding for local
government drought workers to support rural
communities to socially connect

5.  Individual response
 Manage drought as
calculable risk
 Independent of
government support
 Drought inevitable part
of climatic variability
 Only the viable farm
businesses survive
 Developing adaptive
practices to deal with
periods of dryness
 Collective response
 Drought unpredictable
 Drought as natural
disaster
 Sense of urgency to
provide support
 Suicide prevention
strategies needed
 Drought an aberration
 Things will return to
normal when it rains
 Social connection

6. Initial funding - 4 Jan 2007 - 4 Aug 2007:
• Created a sense of urgency
• Had to get to the people who farmed quickly
• Women = quickest access to the men who farmed
With extended funding through to 24 Dec 2009:
• No end in sight for the drought
• Normalising of drought and climate change = loss of funding
• 2008 Drought Policy Review reinforced risk management
approach
• Arm rural communities to fend for themselves

7. • Accessing women deemed best way
to get mental health and well-being
information to men
• Assumption: women are the
glue that holds farming
families together during times
of drought
• Does this negate men’s
responsibility for caring for
their own mental health and
well-being?
Aims of SWSF
• 500 women
• 5 events
• 5 weeks
• Designed by local women for
their local women
• 2 components – well-being
information and activity of
choice – they chose pampering

8. “More days of laughter and pampering please, we need to know
people care,” (Greater Shepparton City Council 2008b, Appendix).
“Empowering women to look after themselves so they can care for
family and community – women are very strong creatures with a lot
to give,” (Greater Shepparton City Council 2008b, Appendix).
“Great event to catch up, and listen to people talk on their
profession and also to enjoy pampering,” (Greater Shepparton City
Council 2008b, Appendix).
“If farming conditions remain as they are at present – there will be
even more need for people to get together and share hardships,”
(Greater Shepparton City Council 2008b, Appendix).

9. 1. Neoliberal narratives reinforcing a risk management approaches
to drought, failed to support people who farmed in the Goulburn
Valley to deal with the extremity of Australia’s Millennium
Drought (2002-2010).
2. Opportunities to connect socially gave people who farmed an
opportunity to not feel so isolated and to better understand the
way drought was affecting others (2007-2009).
3. This brief presentation is part of my thesis titled ‘The
knowledge of women who farm: drought in the Goulburn Valley,
Australia, 2006-2010.
4. Further reading: Congues, J. 2014, ‘Promoting collective well-
being as a means of defying the odds: drought in the Goulburn
Valley, Australia’, Rural Society, vol. 23, iss. 3.

10. Any questions?