Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from the local news teams of the ACM network, which stretches into every state and territory. Today's is written by The Standard journalist Brandon Mauff.
When John Clark returned to his family's property in the south western Victorian farming community of Dundonnell, he found himself amid a severe drought.
Preoccupied with keeping his animals fed and watered, while the crops weren't growing, Mr Clark had no time to settle into the community.
He felt isolated and burnt out.
His experience reflects a mental health struggle quietly unfolding across the nation's food bowl, where traditional notions of rural self-reliance are leaving primary producers to battle in solitude.
Mr Clark is now advocating for others to speak up, and prevent the alienation that can come with rural farming.
"It's the relationships that make a massive difference when you're going through a crisis," he said.
"We're all sort of going through it, but you feel like [you're] going through it alone."
Isolation mistaken for strength
Working on rural farms is crucial but often lonely work.
Having a sense of community and people that you can talk to is extremely important, especially in isolated areas where you might not get day-to-day connections that you need.
"Our family farm's been in the area 20 years, but I haven't," Mr Clark said.
He moved back to the south-west from Tasmania and due to the pressures of the drought he said he felt withdrawn and isolated.
"You just walk out your front door and you can see that you've got no feed, everything's brown and just dusty with dry and hungry animals," he said.
"When I had my original burnout, it was really embarrassing because to think that there was something wrong with me, it felt like I was weak.
"As farmers, we really pride ourselves on being able to fix everything, we're so resourceful...we're just not equipped to fix broken brains."
Over time, the pressure led to severe burnout, depression and anxiety. Mr Clark took some time out to prioritise his mental health.
"Thoughts of suicide are definitely like an engine overheating and you don't just keep driving until it blows up," he said.
"With farming you live where you work, and if work's not going very well and is in crisis, you see that every day.
"Getting off [the] farm was really critical."
Every Saturday morning Mr Clark comes down to Warrnambool beach in south west Victoria to swim in the ocean and take a break from the farm.
"For that hour that you're swimming, and with other people, you just forget about everything else," he said.
"The ocean swimming does wonders for my physical, mental, and emotional health, but the relationship vitamins that I get from being there ... it's made all the difference to me. So, I really treasure that."
Mr Clark is now a Beyond Blue public speaker and encourages people to seek help for their mental health if they need to.
"Looking after yourself is a community service. It's the greatest thing you can do for the people who rely on you," he said.
"Think about your mental health as getting a tune-up, if you're only running on three cylinders out of four, you've got to get it sorted. It's finding the tools, the skills, and the next steps to get yourself back on track."
Animal healthcare provider Zoetis and Beyond Blue have teamed up to raise $100,000 to support people across Australia experiencing mental health challenges.
The 'Helping Rural Australians Start The Conversation' campaign will run from July 15 to October 31, 2026. Australians can support the initiative by purchasing eligible Zoetis livestock, pig, poultry, and companion animal vaccines or parasiticides.