When Natasha Johnston OAM began sharing photos of drought-stricken Queensland farms on social media more than a decade ago, she was sounding an alarm.
Johnston was working in a cafe in Chinchilla at the time and would find herself in countless conversations with farmers who were facing some of the toughest conditions of their careers.
They were in dire financial straits and often, they couldn’t see a way out.
It was these conversations that brought Johnston back to her childhood, where she witnessed consecutive floods wipe out her father’s farm crops. In the 1990s, her parents came close to losing everything, and Johnston saw the significant impact it had on their mental health.
She remembers her mother collapsing on the kitchen floor one night, overwhelmed and exhausted from working 18-hour days to keep the family afloat.
Johnston is now the Founder of Farm Angels, a national non-profit organisation that aims to deliver a spectrum of assistance to thousands of farming families across Australia – from mental health and wellbeing support, to immediate financial relief, essential food, clothing and care packages.
“I just wanted to stop another farmer from getting to a place where they feel like there’s no way out." – Natasha Johnston, Founder, Farm Angels
Farm Angels also provide personalised phone conversations and on-farm visits, helping farmers get through hard times and stay on their land.
“I just wanted to stop another farmer from getting to a place where they feel like there’s no way out,” Johnston tells Women’s Agenda, noting that most farmers living in regional and rural parts of Australia face hurdles in accessing mental health support.
From shipping container collection to a fully-fledged charity
When Johnston first began collecting donations for farmers, she stored them in a shipping container in her backyard in Chinchilla. One shipping container soon became seven and eventually she ran out of space. It was time to go all in.
More than 10 years on, Farm Angels has its own warehouse and operates out of two offices in Brisbane and Chinchilla, with 15 staff and around 30 core volunteers.
The organisation is working on expanding its "community champions” network so that there are volunteers within communities across different states.
One of the key issues farming communities face, Johnston says, is a lack of mental health support services.
“There aren’t enough services that can connect with our farmers,” she explains. “Farmers need people who have the knowledge and the experience of the challenges that farming brings.”
“Farmers often tell us that they feel more at ease speaking with someone who really understands life on the land, someone who gets the unique pressures and challenges they face every day.”
Johnston says stigma is also a key barrier in rural communities.
“If there are services that already exist within a rural community, people often don't like to be seen as having a mental health ‘problem’, so they're not going to walk straight into a psychologist’s office,” Johnston said.
“They're just not going to be seen and that’s where people fall through the cracks. There’s a lot of the stigma around mental health still.”
Rolling natural disasters
Rolling natural disasters and droughts have only heightened the financial pressures facing farmers in recent years. Johnston says there are constant reminders of how bad things are.
“As a farmer, you step outside and the drought is there,” she says. “You can't escape it. It's with you 24/7.”
One farmer recently called her after nearly two years without contact. He wasn’t in need of anything but wanted to let Johnston know how much Farm Angels had supported him.
“He told me he would have lost his farm, and he didn’t think he’d still be here. ‘I would not be here if it wasn't for you’, he said to me.”
“The feedback we get is that we’re helping to save farms, and we’re helping to save lives.” – Natasha Johnston, Founder, Farm Angels
Learning the ropes of leadership
Running a charity was not something Johnston ever had in her life plan, and it hasn’t come without its challenges. A few years ago, she experienced burnout and made the decision to step down as CEO, bringing on an external CEO who had years of operational experience.
“I felt like I'd reached my ceiling as CEO and that I'd taken the charity as far as I could, as best as I could,” she says. “So, for me, stepping out of that space has helped to free up my head so that I can be continually thinking about growth.”
In 2021, she was named Queensland's Local Hero at the Australian of the Year awards. And earlier this year, she was awarded an OAM in the Australia Day Honors list for 2025.
“What I’ve learned is to always follow your intuition and follow your passion,” Johnston says.
“The feedback we get is that we’re helping to save farms, and we’re helping to save lives.”
This article was written in partnership with and originally published by Women's Agenda.
