Growing up in Adelaide, rural life definitely wasn't on Steph Schmidt's radar. However, when she was 19, she met her now-husband, a farmer, while working at The Woolshed (the country pub in the city), and life took a new direction. Fast forward 14 years, Steph now lives in Worlds End, South Australia with her husband and three boys on their mixed-enterprise farm (cropping and sheep).
As a former clinical psychologist with firsthand knowledge of the challenges (and joys) of farming life, in 2020, Steph launched her own business, ACT for Ag (now known as Steph Schmidt - Farm Life Psych), with the aim to foster mental wellbeing for a flourishing and sustainable future in rural communities. Her work was recognised when she was named as the 2020 Agrifutures Rural Women's Award state winner for SA. One year later, she was named as the winner of the 2021 Safework SA Augusta Zadow Award.
In 2023, Steph ran the Change The Picture campaign, an online campaign that showcased insights and snapshots of what farmer mental health looks like through the eyes of rural women right across the country. Across five weeks, Steph gathered the insights of more than 50 women, who shared their views on the joys and struggles of farming life, and in doing so, showed that farmer mental health is far more than just a lonely man standing in a paddock.
Steph loves to share knowledge through story and frequently shares her personal experiences, plus reminders and strategies to stay on track, via social media.
