[1] On 17 April 2023, Farmer set out from Hobart, Tasmania, to complete an 14,400 km run around Australia in support of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
Before entering politics in 2001, he raised significant funds for Diabetes Australia, Lifeline, Careflight International, and the Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research.
[11] Interviewed on Radio National Breakfast, Farmer stated that proceeds of book sales would go to Red Cross's campaign for clean water programs.
[2] Following his ultra-marathon Centenary of Federation run in 1999, Farmer was approached by John Howard in 2000 and encouraged to seek Liberal endorsement for the Sydney-area seat of Division of Macarthur.
[5] In January 2008 he moved to Mosman on Sydney's harbourside against the advice of then Liberal Party leader Brendan Nelson, but stated that it would not affect his ability to represent his electorate in the city's western suburbs.
[20] In August 2009 Farmer was reported to be considering standing for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly after a redistribution erased his already tenuous margin in Macarthur, making it notionally Labor.
[21] In a Liberal Party pre-selection ballot for Macarthur held on 30 October 2009, Farmer was defeated by Russell Matheson, and retired from politics at the 2010 federal election.
[22] On 2 February 2015, Farmer announced that he would be contesting the 2015 New South Wales state election as the Liberal candidate in Macquarie Fields, which included a small slice of his old federal seat.
[7] In May 2000, he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal, as a "Multi-world record holder for ultra-marathon running & extremely successful charity fundraiser.