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New Zealand · Farming Community · YouTube Movement

Voice of Farmers

Every farmer. Every role. Every region. One voice.

You're Not Alone.

We interview farmers, growers, and rural families across Aotearoa and share their real stories on YouTube — so every farmer in New Zealand knows they are seen, valued, and supported.

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48%
of NZ dairy farmers reported mental health challenges in 2023
DairyNZ, View from the Cowshed 2023
60%
said rural areas do not have enough mental health support
DairyNZ, View from the Cowshed 2023
50%
of farm owners have not discussed or started a succession plan
Rabobank, Changing of the Guard 2025
$150B
in NZ farming assets changing hands over the next decade
Rabobank, Changing of the Guard 2025

New Zealand's farming community deserves to be heard.

Voice of Farmers is a YouTube-based movement that gives every farmer, grower, and rural family in Aotearoa a platform to share real stories about their life on the land.

Starting in Waikato and growing nationally, we interview farmers across every role and tenure. No scripts. No filter. Just honest conversations that help farmers feel less alone and more supported.

Our videos are free to watch and shared publicly. The audience includes other farmers, rural families, urban New Zealanders, and anyone who wants to understand the farming community from those who live it every day.

"Farmers do great work for this country. It is time this country heard them."

This movement is for everyone in farming

We cover every role, every region, and every stage of farming life — because every voice matters and every story has value.

Owner-operators Sharemilkers Contract milkers Farm workers Rural families Young farmers Horticulture Sheep and beef

A permanent home for every farming voice in New Zealand.

Social media feeds come and go. YouTube algorithms change. This website is where Voice of Farmers lives — a place that any farmer, policy maker, researcher, or rural family can find at any time and understand exactly what this movement stands for.

A home for the interviews

Every interview we publish is accessible here — easy to find, easy to share, and easy to watch for farmers anywhere in Aotearoa.

Connect with support services

Every farmer who visits this website can immediately find Farmstrong, the Rural Support Trust, Rabobank succession workshops, and more — in one place.

Useful to policy makers

Government agencies and policy makers can access real farmer voices and ground-level data that help inform better rural policy decisions for New Zealand.

Credibility for the movement

A professional website shows that Voice of Farmers is a serious, organised movement — not just a social media account. It builds trust with farmers, media, and partners.

Easy to share

Farmers, media, and industry organisations can share a single link that tells the whole story — what the movement is, what it does, and how to get involved.

A legacy beyond the feed

Social media posts disappear. This website ensures the movement's story, values, and impact are permanently documented and accessible for years to come.

Three focus areas. One farming community.

Every interview we produce touches on one or more of these three areas — because they are the three things that most affect the lives of farmers and rural families across New Zealand right now.

1

Mental health and wellbeing

Farming is one of the most full-on lifestyles in New Zealand. We give farmers a space to talk about what keeps them going, what has helped, and what other farmers can do.

  • Real farmer-to-farmer stories
  • Practical wellbeing habits that work
  • Connections to Farmstrong and Rural Support Trust
  • Reducing isolation through shared experience
  • Honest conversations that reduce stigma
2

Succession and future planning

Over $150 billion in NZ farming assets will change hands in the next decade. Yet 50% of farm owners have not started planning. These conversations need to happen now.

  • How farmers are thinking about their future
  • Real succession journeys — what worked and what didn't
  • Links to free Rabobank succession workshops
  • Advice for the next generation entering farming
  • The emotional and financial side of transition
3

Environmental stewardship

New Zealand farmers are adapting to significant environmental change. We share how farmers are actually working with the land — in their own words, from their own experience.

  • How farmers are caring for land and water
  • Practical experience with freshwater compliance
  • Land stewardship across generations
  • The farmer's perspective on environmental change
  • Connecting with DairyNZ and catchment groups

Mission, vision, and the soul of this movement.

Three things anchor everything we do. They are not corporate statements — they are the reason Voice of Farmers exists.

Mission

To give every farmer in Aotearoa a voice — and make sure it is heard.

We interview real people doing real work on the land and share their stories with New Zealand. No agenda. No script. Just the truth of farming life as the people who live it describe it.

Vision

A New Zealand where every farmer feels seen, valued, and supported.

We see a country where the urban-rural gap is smaller because more people understand what farming life is actually like. Where farmers know help exists and know how to find it. Where no one is farming alone.

Soul

Farmers feed this country. This movement stands with them.

The soul of Voice of Farmers is simple: farmers do great work for New Zealand and deserve the same care, support, and recognition that they give to the land, the animals, and the communities they serve.

Built for farmers. Useful to everyone.

Voice of Farmers is made by farmers and for farmers. But its impact reaches beyond the farm gate — to families, communities, policy makers, and anyone with a stake in the future of rural New Zealand.

For farmers

What this movement delivers to you

  • A platform to share your story on your own terms
  • Practical wellbeing resources and support services, easy to find
  • Connection with other farmers going through similar things
  • Information about free succession workshops and planning tools
  • A reminder that you are not alone — other farmers feel what you feel
  • Your voice in a national conversation about farming in New Zealand
For rural families

What this movement delivers to rural whānau

  • Honest stories from other farming families that reflect your own life
  • Resources for partners, spouses, and parents who carry the load alongside the farmer
  • Support service contacts that are easy to share with someone who needs them
  • Conversations about succession that affect the whole family, not just the farm owner
  • A community that understands rural life from the inside
For urban New Zealanders

What this movement delivers to the wider public

  • An honest window into farming life beyond the headlines
  • Research shows the rural-urban divide is smaller than most people think — this movement bridges it further
  • Understanding of what farmers actually do to care for the land and water
  • A chance to hear from the people behind New Zealand's $25 billion dairy export industry
  • Farmers trusted as an information source more than mainstream media (RSNZ, 2024)
For policy makers and industry

What this movement delivers to decision makers

  • A primary source of ground-level farmer experience — unfiltered by lobby groups or industry bodies
  • Real evidence of where support services are reaching farmers and where they are not
  • Farmer perspectives on succession, compliance, and investment that complement formal research
  • A credible, independent voice that policy makers can listen to and learn from
  • Documented farmer experiences that can inform rural mental health funding, succession policy, and environmental compliance design

Every farmer in New Zealand should know these exist.

These organisations are free, trusted, and available to all farmers and rural families. We include them in every video description. They are listed here so anyone can find them in one place.

Farmstrong

Evidence-based wellbeing programme for farmers and their families. Five Ways to Wellbeing tools, farmer stories, and practical resources. Backed by the Mental Health Foundation, FMG, and ACC since 2016.

farmstrong.co.nz

Rural Support Trust

Free, confidential support for all rural people. 14 regional teams across New Zealand. In 2024, helped over 1,500 people. Every $1 invested creates $4.60–$5.50 in social value.

0800 787 254 · rural-support.org.nz

Rabobank Succession Workshops

Free one-day Planning for Succession workshops. Open to all farmers — no banking relationship required. 24 workshops planned across New Zealand in 2026.

rabobank.co.nz

DairyNZ

Technical guidance, environmental compliance tools, freshwater resources, and the annual View from the Cowshed survey — the most comprehensive source of farmer sentiment data in New Zealand.

dairynz.co.nz · 0800 432 4796

Federated Farmers

Independent advocacy, legal guidance, and peer networks for farming families across New Zealand. The united voice of New Zealand farmers in policy and public conversation.

fedfarm.org.nz · 0800 327 646

Dairy Women's Network

Professional development, community, and peer support for women across the dairy sector. Building leadership and connection for women at every stage of their farming career.

dwn.co.nz

NZ Young Farmers

Community, competitions, and career development for people under 35 in or around New Zealand's primary industries. The future of farming starts here.

youngfarmers.co.nz

Surfing for Farmers

A grassroots wellbeing initiative that gets farmers off the farm and into the ocean. Based in Raglan, Waikato. Received $160,000 from the Government's Rural Wellbeing Fund in 2026.

Find them on Facebook

Starting in Waikato. Growing across Aotearoa.

Voice of Farmers rolls out in four phases over 12 months. We start where we are — on the ground in Waikato — and grow from there.

Phase 1Months 1–2

Foundation — Launch in Waikato

YouTube channel live. First interviews with Waikato farmers across different roles. Social media presence built. Every video description includes links to Farmstrong, Rural Support Trust, and Rabobank workshops.

Phase 2Months 3–5

Build — Fortnightly interviews, growing audience

Interviews released every two weeks. Active promotion of free succession workshops. Partnerships with DairyNZ, Federated Farmers, and Farmstrong for reach and credibility.

Phase 3Months 6–9

Amplify — National reach and media

Interviews expand beyond Waikato to other regions. Content pitched to Rural News, Farmers Weekly, and The Country. Mental Health Awareness Month campaign. Online resource hub live.

Phase 4Months 10–12

Sustain — Community event and advocacy

A community event bringing farmers and support providers together. Review of farmer feedback to identify policy gaps. University and research partnerships explored. Planning for Year 2 begins.

Built by two people who believe farmers deserve better.

Voice of Farmers was founded in Morrinsville, Waikato — in the heart of New Zealand's dairy country — by two people who saw the gap between what farmers were going through and what the country was hearing.

DS
Deepak Sanjay Suresh
Founder & Director
"New Zealand gave me a home, an education, and a purpose. And that purpose found me in the Waikato — standing on farmland, listening to farmers talk about their lives with a quiet strength that humbled me. These are the people who rise before the sun, who work through every season, who carry this country's economy and its heart on their backs. I did not grow up here but I chose this country, and I choose to stand for the people who built it. Voice of Farmers is not just a movement — it is my commitment to every farmer in Aotearoa that their story will be heard, their work will be seen, and they will never stand alone."
Morrinsville, Waikato · Researcher · Agribusiness
YM
Yifahn Murdoch
Chief Technology Officer
"Technology should serve people — not the other way around. I joined Voice of Farmers because I believe the most powerful tool we have is connection. When a farmer in Southland hears the story of a farmer in Waikato and thinks 'that is exactly me' — that is what technology can do when it is built with heart. I am here to make sure every farmer in Aotearoa can find this movement and feel it was made for them."
Morrinsville, Waikato · IT · Southern Institute of Technology

Want to share your story?

We are looking for farmers and growers across Aotearoa to interview for our YouTube channel. Your experience could help another farmer who needs to hear it. It is free, it is your words, and it will reach people who understand exactly what you are talking about.

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