Let’s talk about all things health and wellness in our rural communities
Looking for someone dynamic and insightful to speak to your rural and farming audience?
Whether you need a podcast or panel guest, conference or keynote speaker, teacher or facilitator, I turn the tough conversation around health and wellness in farming communities and rural life into something engaging, practical and positive. Delivered by someone who can really connect with your audience because I live there and get it.
Hi, I’m Louise O’Neill.
A farmer, wife, mum, fitness trainer, and counsellor.
My driving passion is connecting with people in rural locations and vocations to help them create a healthier, happier farming future for themselves and their families.
Too many people in agriculture suffer due to the false belief that farming must be an all-consuming, 24/7 job. I unapologetically challenge conventions and tackle barriers harming our rural communities and preventing positive change.
Having first-hand experience of farming life hardships means I speak with empathy and real-life understanding and teach with a practical, solution-focused, evidence-based approach.
I love to talk and teach about
CANOLA Goal Achievement Framework
Bust the “SMART goal” myth and discover a goal-setting method that helps you achieve those goals. Find your WHY, connect with your core values and gather the support you need to achieve your goals consistently.
Mental Health in Agriculture
Our farming sector has double the suicide rate of any other demographic. Drawing from my own experience of the challenges in farming, this talk is a guided journey into how to lead change for yourself, your children, and your community.
Finding your voice and your passion
Women in farming families can sometimes lose themselves in the role of wife and mother. Finding your voice means finding your identity, passion and purpose so you can positively impact your family and community.
Practical Movement for Health
It’s time to challenge the assumptions around what healthy “exercise” should be. Functional movement for physical and mental health helps you create a movement toolbox of accessible exercises that suit your lifestyle and mood and ensures you’re prepared for the intense, strenuous demands that farm life can bring.
The Farm Life Fitness 5 Pillars.
Our work, our nutrition, moving our bodies, connecting with our community, and resting are the foundational elements that, when cultivated, help us thrive.
I can also talk about
The 3 Spheres of Holistic Health
A sustainable approach to mental and physical health for people in agriculture requires addressing the social, biological, and psychological aspects of real farm life.
Corporate Health in Ag
If you’re serious about building a workplace that truly is a ‘great place to work’, the health and wellness of your team is a critical component to get right.
Featured in…
Testimonials
The Farm Life Fitness story
The seed of Farm Life Fitness (FLF) was initially planted when I realised I couldn’t do as much as I wanted, as a fitness trainer, for the mental and emotional health of the people walking through the doors of my gym. They weren’t making gains or healing as well as they should have been because there wasn’t enough time to go into their emotional wellbeing and how they were coping at home.
At the same time, I saw first-hand how hard farming could be. My husband Warren was all work, work, work at the beginning of the relationship—but to him, it wasn’t strange. All his farming friends were doing it. His dad had done it before him, so why stop? The more I saw how pervasive this mindset was, the more I wanted to help.
The work overload finally came to a head when what should have been one of the happiest times for us became one of the most emotionally draining and stressful. We were about to welcome our first son Earthside, we were in the middle of seeding, and our machinery suffered a devastating breakdown. Warren did too . . .right there in the paddock. He hit rock bottom and didn’t know where to go or what to do to fix things. If seeing your husband reach that point doesn’t inspire you to make a change, I don’t know what will. That image of him and me in that paddock, feeling lost, burnout and helpless, will probably stay with me forever.
I knew I needed to put that hard-earned lesson to good use, to turn it into something positive. And I feel that by creating FLF and holding space for others to connect, talk and seek advice, I am doing that.
I don’t want our boys growing up thinking that farming is a 24/7 job – no other job requires this, so farming shouldn’t be any different. Instead, I want them to grow up knowing the value of work, truly appreciating what and who is around them, and knowing that their mental health is the most important thing in their life.
Farming can be the best job and lifestyle in the world, but it is getting increasingly difficult to sustain it when there is a belief that if we take a break or step away, everything will fall to pieces.
FLF is leading a shift in those beliefs and helping change these attitudes. Empowering people to change the direction of their health and future so they can become leaders in their own right to make changes that they can pass on to future generations of farmers.
