Many of the dairy farmers profiled in the 2025 calendar were at the launch held at Gippsland Jersey’s processing factory in Lakes Entrance.
Photo by
Jeanette Severs
The guest speaker at the launch of Gippsland Jersey’s calendar said he had made mistakes in the past that meant he didn’t look after himself.
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Because of how he feels about his behaviour, he nearly didn’t make it to the launch of the 2025 Gippsland Jersey calendar.
Joe Meggetto, a dairy farmer at Warragul, was Mr September in the first calendar released by Gippsland Jersey, seven years ago.
The calendar is a compendium of dairy farmers’ stories, and focuses on mental health and wellbeing journeys.
After the first calendar was published, Joe quickly received inquiries about speaking at events to tell his story.
He realised he was looking after other people at the expense of his own mental health and relationships with those people close to him.
Joe Meggetto said he had to learn to look after himself ahead of other people.
Photo by
Jeanette Severs
His message at the 2025 calendar launch on December 6, was to first look after yourself — by being brutally honest.
“It takes bravery to put your story out there in public,” Joe said.
“I’ve been suffering from my mental health since the mid-1990s.
“Telling my story at events is good therapy for me. And it’s meant I’ve been invited to many places.”
Some issues with a neighbour came to a head in 2024, and Joe found himself in crisis.
“A few months ago, a few issues became overwhelming,” he said.
“The biggest mistake I have made was breaking my promise to Michelle [Joe’s wife] and things got heated at home.
“I took off.”
Joe spent some time driving around the district, knowing he was in a bad place psychologically.
“I got a text message from [his 14-year-old son] – ‘I love you Dad and I want you to come home’.
“A while later, I went home and [son] was waiting for me at the dairy shed.”
That was in October. Since then, Joe has sought help through an online support group for men.
He also saw his GP.
“I’ve been so keen helping everyone else instead of helping myself,” Joe said.
“People ring me and I go and help them.
“Michelle told me to start looking after myself.”
Joe said his excuse had always been it was hard to find a therapist to talk to who understood dairy farming.
He still thinks that’s the case, but urges people to keep looking for someone who understands them as an individual.
That is what Joe has found with the therapist he was referred to through TradeMutt.
“Try hard to find the approach that suits you,” Joe said.
He was really daunted when he phoned the TradeMutt assistance line and got an automated response. With Michelle’s urging, Joe left a message.
“They phoned me back within 30 seconds,” he said.
“We spoke on the phone for 20 minutes. I cried.
“The first counselling session was pretty tough.
“And we worked out a path to go forward and deal with my issues.”
Gippsland Jersey co-founder Steve Ronalds said the business’ commitment to supporting the dairy community continued through the annual calendar.
Photo by
Jeanette Severs
He has since completed three counselling sessions, by phone, with a therapist in Queensland.
“I’m committed to fixing myself because I need to fix things at home,” Joe said.
“Don’t be scared of trying again and again. Keep taking one step forward.”
The theme of the 2025 Gippsland Jersey calendar is mateship, but it could as easily be ‘keep going forward’.
The 12 interviewees, a mix of individuals and families, highlight the importance of having family and friends for support.
Death, divorce, disability, disagreements, injury and stress are common themes among the calendar ‘stars’.
“The weather and prices are out of my control, but I’ve learnt that how I deal with it is within my control,” Dean Turner of Lang Lang said, who is profiled in August 2025.
This year’s calendar profiles some young dairy farmers who are committed to working hard for their future.
The calendar also highlights a number of dairy farmers who have entered the industry after working in other careers, or from experience of other parts of agriculture.
The calendars are distributed free to dairy farmers in Gippsland through the support of milk processor companies.
They can also be delivered to other regions for the cost of postage or cartage.
Gippsland Jersey co-founder Sallie Jones coordinates delivery of the calendar each year as a “passion project”.
Photo by
Jeanette Severs
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