Farmers get down to bare basics to aid mental health charity

Photo / Facebook - Ngarua Young Farmers

By Katie Doyle of RNZ

A group of North Island farmers are stripping down to their birthday suits - all in the name of rural wellbeing.

The Ngarua Young Farmers club has produced a 2022 calendar featuring farmers in the nude, with the profits to be donated to an organisation called Will to Live.

Will to Live works to raise awareness about mental health in rural communities, and it offers three free private counselling sessions for farmers.

Brooke Matthews from Ngarua Young Farmers said her group offers a strong support system for its members, but some farmers are not as lucky.

That's why Will to Live is so important.

"They make it really easy as well for you to sort of get in at a time that suits you, so if you have gone to them for help they will just make it work, they'll fit you in as soon as they can," she said.

"Farmers aren't always the most willing people to admit that they need help and when you finally do admit that you need help it's probably a bit later in the game so Will to Live is just really good because as soon as you go to them saying 'yes I need help' they will help make it happen."

This isn't the first time Ngarua Young Farmers has produced a nude calendar, the first one was published back in 2002.

Brooke Matthews, who was also one of the photographers, said there was a little bit of initial anxiety about stripping off.

"Everyone's sort of been nervous before, you know, they've started.

"Everyone's actually just had a really fun time doing it and you're sort of a bit distracted with whatever is going on.

"I did one with a few girls and we had two sheep and a dog and they were just so distracted on trying to make the sheep do what they wanted them to do that they forgot about the fact that they were actually posing for a naked calendar."

Matthews said Ngarua Young Farmers is building a website to sell the calendars, but people wanting one can also send Ngarua Young Farmers a message on Facebook.

- RNZ