The Alliance Chief Executive Susi Tegen recently spoke to the media about saleyard closures across the country and its impact on the mental health of farmers.
Highlighting that the closure of meeting places such as saleyards was a real issue for rural communities, Ms Tegen added, “You might be talking a little bit about the livestock, but then at the same time, you might be saying, ‘I haven’t been right lately. I’ve been feeling really down’, or, ‘I’m not dealing with the fact that this is the third year in a row that we’ve had a drought’.”
“Even though a lot of trading is now done on apps and online, they [saleyards] are the structure or the fabric that pulls everything together, and it’s really important that we continue to maintain that,” Ms Tegan said.
Ms Tegen’s comments were carried on ABC stations across the country, including ABC Radio National (The World Today), ABC Online, ABC NewsRadio as well as ABC’s regional and metropolitan stations.