AFL Coaches’ Association chief executive Neale Daniher spoke to a room of more than 100 farmers on Saturday.

He said handling the hard times were an important part of life.

The football powerhouse, who has family in farming, said it was important to look at the negative aspects of life as temporary and asked the audience to challenge negative ways of thinking.

Mr Daniher suffered debilitating knee injuries that left his career as a player in question when he was aged 21.

‘‘I thought the world was going to cave in, but instead it created an opportunity to go down a different path,’’ he said.

One of his toughest moments as coach of Melbourne Football Club came after the death of player Troy Broadbridge during the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

Mr Daniher said Mr Broadbridge’s widow, Trisha, was proof of the possibility of overcoming adversity.

‘‘She decided that this particular event wasn’t going to shut her life down, and it’s a question of how you use these challenges of life to move forward,’’ he said.

‘‘How do you make a choice that says you would rather see things as a challenge then a threat? How do you manage your thinking to move forward?’’

Esther Price Promotions managing director Esther Price said despite the image, farming was a serious business with the opportunity to create significant wealth.

‘‘There is still this really big overhang of how farming is perceived as not sexy, as not the place to be,’’ she said.

‘‘It’s seen as boring country towns with not much to do.’’She said farmers needed to recognise the importance image had in how they worked.

‘‘What I’m suggesting is, look like you mean business,’’ she said.

Young Agribusiness Professionals is an initiative of the Victorian Farmers Federation.

Young Agribusiness Professionals spokeswoman Prue Addlem said the industry faced a constant battle with the dated image of a man with a straw hat and grass in his mouth.

‘‘We were formed to create a group who can go through the VFF with a young perspective,’’ she said.

VFF President Simon Ramsay said the event helped achieve networking opportunities for farmers in Victoria.

He said an image overhaul was critical to the future of farming.

‘‘It’s important to change the stereotype of a farmer, and show this as a modern, sophisticated profession,’’ Mr Ramsay said.