Sixteen years ago Marlborough farmer Doug Avery hit rock bottom. He was broke, had a destroyed farm and his hopes were gone.
But in a room packed with more than 100 people at the Heartland Hotel in Gore last week Mr Avery spoke of how he turned his life and farm around.
The first four years were hard, the hardest time of his life.
''I would never have got through it if I had not had a dedicated team supporting us.''
Mr Avery knew that if he did not turn his life around he was never going to be happy again and his farm was not going to be successful.
Ears were pricked forward throughout Mr Avery's presentation of ''Resilient Farmer'' and the ''BNZ Innovate or Stagnate'' seminar.
His message to New Zealand farmers was simple - if you are not changing, you are not moving forward and you are stagnant.
There were many things farmers could not help, such as drought and climate change.
He said understanding this had been a big step in him making a change to his own farming property and he encouraged others to do the same.
''It is all about taking the first step, talking about what you want to achieve and having a go at it.''
The drought 16 years ago was Mr Avery's opportunity.
''Things were bad before the drought and then it hit and things got really bad.''
Mr Avery did not know where to go next but turned to people around him and that is how he got through.
''Men's suicide rate is three times that of women, and do you know why? We don't talk about things.''
Mr Avery said in times of hardship in the rural industry men tend to bottle things up and put themselves down.
''This is when you fall into depression, you won't talk about the subject when you really need to be seeking help, but that is the nature of this horrible disease.''
Mr Avery said farmers needed to connect, give, take notice, not personalise problems, keep learning and be active.
''Success is not the key to happiness, happiness is the key to success.''
