media release: Project delivers healthy farmers and savings

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Project delivers healthy farmers and savings
20 December 2007
A project to help farmers improve their families’ health has shown remarkable results, reducing mortality from common health problems like diabetes and cardiovascular disease, with positive results for farming communities and cost savings for the government.
The Sustainable Farm Families (SFF) project worked with a targeted group of farm families across a number of industries in improving their health management. Over a period of three years the families were regularly monitored and participated in annual workshops focussed on health improvement.
The project, funded by the Joint Research Venture for Farm Health and Safety, is an initiative of the Western District Health Service, Hamilton.
Living Longer on the Land – A health program that works is a new report from the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), which manages the Joint Research Venture for Farm Health and Safety. The report provides an economic analysis of the SFF project, in order to inform future decisions in resource allocation for rural health initiatives.
Rural and farming families in general have a poorer health than their urban counterparts, with higher than average rates of premature death from heart disease, cancer and suicide.
“This project shows that proactive investment in health management has real benefits for farming families,” RIRDC Senior Research Manager Jane Fisher said.
“In addition to the improvements in quality of life and life expectancy, healthy farmers enjoy improved profitability; and the benefits flow on to their communities and to government at local, state and federal levels,” she said.
The cost savings predicted over ten years in the reduction of Type 2 diabetes alone were around $155,000 for the 128 participants in the project, exceeding the total cost of the SFF project.
“This result shows that it really pays in economic terms to work with rural families and communities to prevent health problems,” Ms Fisher said.
“Even without considering the savings associated with other major health problems that would be reduced through the SFF project, this investment already shows good long-term returns,” she said.
The SFF project worked with 128 voluntary participants, who reported on their eating habits, exercise, health checks and work safety improvements. Their health was monitored annually with clinical tests of their cholesterol, blood sugar, obesity indicators, blood pressure and pulse rates.
“The analysis testifies to the success of this initiative, and shows that this type of project could provide significant benefits to other rural communities,” Ms Fisher said.
The Joint Research Venture for Farm Health and Safety is a partnership between Meat and Livestock Australia, Australian Wool Innovation and the Grains, Sugar, Cotton and Rural Industries Research and Development Corporations, and is managed by RIRDC. The Venture invests in R&D to enhance the
wellbeing and productivity in rural industries through improved occupational health and safety and safe systems of work on farms.
For more information about the report, Living Longer on the Land – A health program that works, visit www.rirdc.gov.au or call 02 6271 4160.
Media enquiries:
Danny O’Brien – RIRDC Communications Manager – 02 6271 4175 / 0438 130 445, email – danny.obrien@rirdc.gov.au

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