GRDC Supporting Others Through Tough Times
The GRDC “Supporting Others Through Tough Times” workshop is a practical, down-to-earth session designed for agronomists, bankers, accountants, and rural advisers who work closely with growers across southern Australia. This is not a generic wellbeing workshop. It is a hands-on, relevant session focused on real conversations, real challenges, and practical tools you can use immediately in your role. Participants will build a practical toolkit for personal wellbeing, gain confidence supporting clients through stress, uncertainty, and decision paralysis, learn how to ask better questions and recognise when — and how — to refer someone on, strengthen the trusted relationships they already have with the growers they support. These sessions are ideal for anyone working directly with farmers — people who often carry the unseen emotional load of helping others through difficult times. By building skills, confidence, and stronger connections, we can make a real difference in how our rural communities navigate tough times and come out stronger for it. Each participant will also receive a copy of “The Ute Guide: Supporting Others Through Tough Times” to take away and use as an ongoing reference.
Delivered by
Beck Burgess
Agricultural facilitator and consultant with nearly 20 years’ experience working alongside producers and advisors. Beck specialises in turning tough, complex conversations into practical, workable outcomes — grounded in real paddock experience.
Steph Schmidt
Clinical Psychologist, mixed-enterprise farmer and founder of ACT for Ag. Steph brings evidence-based mental resilience tools tailored specifically to agriculture, blending professional expertise with lived farming experience.
Sarah Crosthwaite
Rural mental health professional and dairy farmer, Founder of Open Road Counselling. Sarah combines clinical insight with firsthand understanding of farming life, helping service providers navigate sensitive conversations with confidence and care.
Workshop Registration Links (Date Order):
- 16 April, Mt Gambier, https://events.humanitix.com/supporting-others-through-tough-times-mt-gambier-sa
- 21 April, ONLINE, https://events.humanitix.com/supporting-others-through-tough-times-online
- 29 April, ONLINE, https://events.humanitix.com/supporting-others-through-tough-times-online
Discussion Groups Pilot Program
Wine Australia is rolling out a proven peer to peer learning model for grapegrowers and winemakers, designed to accelerate on farm and business decision making through shared experience and practical problem solving. Discussion Groups bring together 7 to 9 businesses to focus on a common challenge such as drought resilience, market access or water use. Supported by a skilled facilitator, groups meet regularly to share insights, test ideas and learn from each other, with access to additional expertise where needed. This model has been highly successful in other sectors, delivering faster adoption of practice change, stronger business outcomes and lasting industry connections.
Each group will be supported over two years with access to resources, coordination, an operational budget and benchmarking against business goals. Spaces are limited, with groups commencing from June 2026 and June 2027.
If you are looking to solve real challenges, connect with others and drive progress in your business, this is an opportunity worth being part of.
Further Information or to Register see www.wineaustralia.com/research_and_innovation/in-practice/grower-discussion-groups
Wine Australia is rolling out a proven peer to peer learning model for grapegrowers and winemakers, designed to accelerate on farm and business decision making through shared experience and practical problem solving. Discussion Groups bring together 7 to 9 businesses to focus on a common challenge such as drought resilience, market access or water use. Supported by a skilled facilitator, groups meet regularly to share insights, test ideas and learn from each other, with access to additional expertise where needed. This model has been highly successful in other sectors, delivering faster adoption of practice change, stronger business outcomes and lasting industry connections.
Each group will be supported over two years with access to resources, coordination, an operational budget and benchmarking against business goals. Spaces are limited, with groups commencing from June 2026 and June 2027.
If you are looking to solve real challenges, connect with others and drive progress in your business, this is an opportunity worth being part of.
Further Information or to Register see www.wineaustralia.com/research_and_innovation/in-practice/grower-discussion-groups
