The drought-stricken Australian rural landscape, cultures of farming masculinity and an economy of value, moral worth and pride form a complex matrix of discourses that shape subjective dynamics that render suicide a possibility for distressed farmers. However, the centrality of a 'mental health' perspective and reified notions of 'stoicism' within this discursive field operate to exclude consideration of the ways in which cultural identity is linked to emotions. To illuminate and explore complex connections between subjectivity, moral worth and affect in relation to understanding farmer suicide, this article draws on theory and literature on agrarian discourses of masculine subjectivity and shame to analyze empirical data from interviews with farmers during times of environmental, social and economic crisis. The idealized notion of the farming man as 'Aussie battler' emerges from romantic agrarian mythology in which pride and self-worth are vested in traditional values of hard work, struggle and self-sacrifice. However, the structural context of agriculture, as it is shaped by the political economy of neoliberalism, threatens farm economic viability and is eroding the pride, self-worth and masculine identity of farmers. The article suggests that the notion of the 'fallen hero' captures a discursive shift of a masculinity 'undone', a regress from the powerful position of masculine subjectivity imbued with pride to one of shame that is of central importance to understanding how suicide emerges as a possibility for farmers.

This paper uses grounded theory to uncover the occupational identities of men and women who farm, and to build an empirically constructed typology of occupational identities in farming. The narratives of 22 men and 22 women from diverse farm types and two regions of South Australia are used to explore subjective meanings associated with work, the farm and self. The typology shows a shift in meanings associated with work, ‘the farm’ and gender characteristics across time and the typology. Globalizing influences are identified which have detraditionalized identities in farming and these are: changing relations between men and women and changing expectations about how producers should engage and orientate themselves toward the general market. A reflexivity about gender and a reflexivity about farming practice were identified as the two most important recurring features in the formation of identities that were non‐traditional. The paper therefore investigates why some individuals are more likely than others to be reflexive about gender and gender relations and/or farming practice. It explores the inter‐relationship between ‘self‐reflexivity’ and the structural environment in which the construction and reconstruction of identity occurs.

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Rural and remote communities often have complex and diverse mental health needs and inadequate mental health services and infrastructure. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) provide an array of potentially innovative and cost-effective means for connecting rural and remote communities to specialist mental health practitioners, services, and supports, irrespective of physical location. However, despite this potential, a review of Australian and international literature reveals that ICT has not attained widespread uptake into social work practice or implementation in rural communities. This article reviews the social work literature on ICT, draws on research on tele-psychology and tele-education, and provides suggestions on how to enhance engagement with ICT by social workers to implement and provide mental health services and supports tailored to community values, needs, and preferences that are commensurate with the values of the social work profession.

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