2013 New South Wales Winner – Isobel Knight

Isobel Knight lives on a cattle farm at Loomberah, near Tamworth, and started her succession planning business in 2004 to provide farmers with the tools they needed to create formal succession plans and smooth the transition between generations. 

Isobel’s passion is to get women more involved in the day-to-day operations of their family farms. 

Isobel will use the $10,000 bursary to develop an affordable and easy to use online tool to help farming families develop succession plans.

2013 Victoria Winner - Michelle Freeman

Michelle Freeman is a forester from Alexandria and has a vision to instigate change in the culture and diversity of the forest industry. She hopes to do this through engaging women and youth more effectively and empowering them to step forward as the next generation of industry leaders. 

Michelle will visit key forest industry locations across Australia and run capacity-building workshops and engagement activities targeted at youth and women.

2013 Queensland Winner – Alison Fairleigh

Alison Fairleigh from Ayr in Queensland's north is a leading advocate for mental health issues and services, particularly amongst the young.  

Alison’s project is to partner with the Medicare Local Alliance to develop a pilot education program for Medicare Locals to create better pathways for farmers and farming communities to access frontline health and mental health services.

 2013 South Australia Winner – Anna Hooper

Anna Hooper, a winemaker from Mt Benson, will investigate the environmental performance of Australian wine compared to global competitors and then generate ideas for improvement. 

Anna’s project will see her travel to countries such as New Zealand, the USA and South Africa which have successfully developed environmental sustainability programs to guide viticultural and winemaking practices and assist with marketing their wine products.

2013 Western Australia Winner - Danielle England

Danielle England is an agricultural consultant and farmer from Narrogin with a passion for innovation. Danielle will use the $10,000 bursary to undertake a study tour of New Zealand’s North Island to explore how the agricultural industries there have maintained international competitiveness through innovation. 

Danielle will develop a report on the role extension plays in identifying and managing change, and how private extension providers work with industry funding partners and research agencies to improve the delivery of rural extension.

2013 Tasmania Winner – Katie Coad

Katie from Margate, who is also State President of Rural Youth, won the Tasmanian Award for her vision to deliver the Kids Ag Awareness Program (KAAP), which focuses on education and activities based on the importance of agriculture.  

The project will initially introduce the Kids Ag Awareness Program at the Tasmania Agfest Field Days with the hope of expanding the program to allow a greater number of children to access its resources and messages.

2013 Northern Territory Winner – Giovanna Webb

Giovanna Webb is originally from Colombia in South America, but for the past 16 years has lived in Darwin where she runs her family company which is involved in the breeding and growing of crocodiles and the marketing of crocodile products. 

Her project is to provide one-to-one training to a small group of Indigenous women in the crocodile industry to expand their skills and employment vision; encourage other women, by example, to also take up the training; foster integration and inclusion within the work-place; and reduce reliance on government financial support.

2013 New South Wales runner-up - Vivien Thomson

2013 Victoria runner-up - Joanne Clifford 

2013 Queensland runner-up - Terressa Ford 

2013 South Australia runner-up - Mardi Longbottom

2013 Western Australia runner-up - Leilani Leyland

2013 Tasmania runner-up - Georgie Bond

There was no runner-up for the Northern Territory

2012 New South Wales winner – Danica Leys

Danica’s Award ambition was to take the social media platform AgChatOz to the next generation to better advocate for Australian agriculture.

Danica has been actively involved in agriculture since 1998. In her early career Danica worked as an agronomist across northern New South Wales, before completing tertiary studies in law and now working as a lawyer, based in Sydney and specialising in employment, social media and agribusiness law.

Danica was one of the co-founders of social media platform and community forum AgChatOz. The forum was borne out of a perceived need for rural Australian communities to connect and as a vehicle to closing the city-rural divide, by providing a meeting place for weekly conversations on issue relevant to rural Australia.

Danica’s Award ambition involved formalising the AgChatOz platform as a legal entity, increasing participation and awareness of AgChatOz through key fields and events, and supporting rural people to develop their social media skills.

She believes the extension of AgChatOz will significantly increase its awareness, and its presence and impact as a powerful tool to advocate for agriculture in Australia.

2012 Victoria winner - Tania Chapman
 
Tania’s Award ambition was to nuture and develop the leadership of rural women and young people in the citrus industry in Australia. 
 
At the time of the Award, Tania was a citrus grower from outside Mildura and Chair of Citrus Australia. Tania purchased her 350 acre farm in 2004 and continues to operate her own book keeping business.
 
Tania transitioned to Chair of the citrus industry’s national peak industry body within the space of six years.
 
Tania has contributed to the development of her regional community through her involvement in the Sunraysia Rural Financial Counselling Service, the Deakin Mildura Rotary Club and is an active campaigner for breast cancer.
 
Tania’s Award ambition is to unify the Australian citrus industry by tapping into the skills, energy and leadership potential of its rural women and young people. The citrus industry is one of the most important horticultural industries in Australia, yet Tania believes its industry leadership is very fragmented which she believes threatens the industry’s future sustainability.
 
Tania wished to use the Bursary to set up a national Rural Women’s Leadership Forum, to identify and encourage industry leadership talent and establish the Citrus Industry Future Leaders Program, as an ongoing program to identify, encourage and develop the next generation of leadership for the citrus industry.

2012 Queensland winner – Annette Smith
 
Annette’s Award ambition was to build capacity to negotiate better outcomes for agricultural landholders and mining companies and regional communities from the resources boom.
 
At the time of the Award, Annette was Chair of Central Highlands Regional Resources Use Planning Cooperative Ltd, the local Natural Resource Management Group and a Senior Property Valuer with Taylor Byrne. CHRRUP is a community-owned organisation that focuses on improving natural resource management practices and building sustainable communities across the Central Highlands.
 
Annette was the youngest and only female ever appointed to a role of senior valuer within the Department of Natural Resources and was Vice-Chair of the Emerald Pastoral College Board, prior to the amalgamation of Queensland’s four agricultural colleges.
 
Annette’s Award ambition is to take best management practice modules for pest management, biosecurity and salinity, currently delivered to rural industries, and rewrite these workshops for delivery to representatives of resource companies to better inform and build capacity to negotiate better outcomes for all parties and the broader community.
 
The rapid expansion in coal and mineral production conflicts with traditional land uses and has ignited strong emotions and heated debate across the region.
 
While legislation and regulation sets out the requirements of all parties to land under exploration and mining tenure Annette believes better outcomes can be achieved by increasing understanding of the requirements, culture and demands of all parties and by supporting agreement by all parties.
 
Annette planned to develop and deliver a series of workshops, offered to both landholders and to resource staff and contractors, to increase the level of understanding of the businesses and environment of both parties, to improve relationships and ensure better outcomes for all parties and the broader community.

2012 National and South Australia winner – Mary Retallack

Mary’s Award ambition was to support women’s leadership to ensure a more profitable and resilient Australian wine industry.

Mary is a third generation viticulturist and Managing Director of Retallack Viticulture, which offers a wide range of consulting services throughout Australia. Since 1996 Mary has worked in vineyard management, technical, research, and consultancy, training and extension roles both with in Australia and overseas.

Her experience extends from Viticulture Lecturer at TAFESA, Okanagan University College in British Columbia and Cellar Operations at Matanzas Creek Winery in California, to Vineyard Manager at Mountadam Vineyards SA, Project Leader at the CRC for Viticulture and Senior Consultant at Scholefield Robinson Horticultural Services.

Mary was one of the youngest non-executive directors to be elected to the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation and is a graduate of the Australian Rural Leadership Program and the Australian Wine Industry’s Future Leaders Program.

Mary has been actively involved in women’s leadership development within the wine industry, as the instigator of a small women’s network and as mentor to numerous other women involved in the wine industry.

Mary’s Award ambition was to develop a ‘Women in Wine’ website as a central meeting place and comprehensive information sharing hub for women in the wine industry. The website would provide a single location for the dissemination of information and resources and will create a conduit to mentoring and supporting women.

She wishes to encourage women to be involved in the wine industry, in a range of roles and especially viticulture. Most importantly she wants to ensure that women who are at the top of their game do not leave the industry.

Mary used the Award bursary to develop the website and to build a network of women in the wine industry, to act as ambassadors and to support women’s leadership development.

2012 National runner-up and Western Australia winner – Catherine Marriott

Catherine’s Award ambition was to bring together a group of women from the pastoral regions of Western Australia, to develop their knowledge and skills in communication and media, so that they could better advocate on behalf of the beef industry and behalf of rural and regional Australia.

Catherine Marriott’s entire life has been directly involved in primary industries, from growing up on the family farm outside Benalla in Victoria, to undertaking a Bachelor of Rural Science at the University of New England, to jillarooing at stations across northern Australia, to consulting to the northern Australian beef industry.

At the time of the Award, Catherine consulted to a select group of companies and private clients involved in the live cattle export industry, pastoral training and leadership capacity building, both within Australia and in Asia.

Catherine is a graduate of the Australian Rural Leadership Program, a committee member of the RRR Network, an active member of the Country Women’s Association and a volunteer ambulance officer with St John’s Ambulance Australia in her home town of Kununurra.

Catherine used the Bursary to organise a three day forum in Broome that provided participants with new skills in communication, influencing and advocating for the Northern beef industry using all media platforms. Other topics covered were values-based communication and engaging with the consumer as well as a strategy building workshop aimed at maintaining future sustainability and viability for the industry. The three day forum finished with a project development session - a tangible outcome of the new knowledge gained and connections formed.

Catherine believes that rural women are very comfortable and competent at managing change and that the time is right for women to play a greater role in advocating on behalf of the beef industry and Australian agriculture.

2012 Tasmania winner – Fiona Ewing
 
Fiona’s Award ambition was to support and grow the Tasmanian seafood industry by supporting the rural communities it depends on, through the establishment of a community trust that delivers lasting change to the west coast of Tasmania.
 
Fiona has worked in the seafood industry in Tasmania since 1993 as a scientific observer working on commercial fishing vessels around Tasmania, a Fisheries Extension Officer with Ocean Watch Australia and at the time of the Award was a Community Engagement Officer with salmon growers, Tassal.
 
She has extensive experience in a number of fisheries including the Rock Lobster, Purse Seine, Trawl, Giant Crab, long line and drop line fisheries.
 
Fiona has instigated a number of worthy projects including the Seafood Industry Partnerships in Schools Program, which has made a positive contribution to educating students and to public perception of the industry. Another program which Fiona has had substantial input into is the Marine Debris Cleanup Project, which has evolved into an ‘adopt a shoreline’ approach and created valuable linkages between local communities and seafood producers.
 
With Tasmania’s three largest salmon companies looking to expand their operations to the west coast of Tasmania, Fiona believes there is a corporate social responsibility to now not only provide good employment opportunities but to support the rural communities in which they operate and to assist to resolve some of the social issues apparent in some of these communities.
 
Fiona’s Award ambition was to travel to Scotland to visit a salmon farming company that has established a Community Trust, which provides financial support for community projects that deliver lasting change. She wanted to learn from their experiences, with a view to setting up a similar program on the west coast of Tasmania.
 
Fiona believes the community trust once established, will give other industries operating in the west coast region the opportunity to be involved, so maximizing the Trust’s giving capacity. This has the potential to be translated to other industries and other regions.

2012 Northern Territory winner – Barbara Koennecke

Barbara’s Award ambition was to support the giant clam industry and engage the indigenous community in the development of the aquaculture industry in the Northern Territory

Barbara is a pioneer of the aquarium industry and at the time of the Award was Principal of Arafura Aquatic Fish Pty Ltd, one of the first professional aquarium businesses in the Northern Territory. Arafura Aquatic Fish is based at Gove, on the beautiful Arafura Sea in Arnhem Land on the north eastern coast of Australia.

Barbara and her partner Brian have been instrumental in developing the aquarium industry in the Territory including the development and implementation on new management practices, licensing requirements and new environmental management and quality assurance guidelines.

As a pioneer in the aquarium industry, Barbara has contributed to the development of the industry through the NT Seafood Council, Primary Industry Training Advisory Council, Women without Boundaries Network and Women’s Industry Network NT (WINSC)

Arafura Aquatic Fish has since 2007 been working in collaboration with the Darwin Aquaculture Centre on the reproduction and husbandry of the giant clam. Arafura is the first enterprise within Australia to successfully spawn and re-seed on farm and then transfer to grow out in the wild commercial quantities of baby giant clams.

Barbara’s Award ambition was to support the giant clam industry, namely improving its reproduction and husbandry practices, so that a greater supply of giant clams will be available for restocking of depleted wild stocks, for sale to the ornamental industry and as a sustainable food source for the indigenous population.

Barbara used the Award Bursary to travel to the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to learn from their research into restocking of giant clams and their experiences with engaging coastal communities in the aquaculture industry. She also planned to attend the International 2012 Australiasia Aquaculture Conference.

2011 New South Wales Winner – Karen Hutchinson

Rural change agent

Karen Hutchinson, from Hanwood, New South Wales was, at the time of the Award, Executive Manager of Murrumbidgee Irrigation and an irrigated agriculture leader at a time of unprecedented change in the management of the nation’s water resources.

Karen came from an academic background with expertise in group processes and sustainable resource management and professional experience in strategic development. 

Since 2000 Karen has lived with her family at Hanwood outside Griffith, where she has been involved in primary industries; directly at a farming level growing sultanas for dried fruit production on their irrigated property. Indirectly she has been an educator and involved in policy development for the irrigation industry.

In her role as Murrumbidgee Irrigation Executive Manager, Karen was responsible for water distribution and customers throughout the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA).

Karen believes that with agriculture in the Murray Darling Basin facing the prospect of significant cuts to water allocations, the efficiency of water supply and its use will become absolutely critical to the survival of the Basin’s rural industries and communities.

Karen wants to see irrigated agriculture go beyond resilience, to embrace change and to demonstrate its ability to adapt and thrive in response to political and environmental change.

She believes during a time of unprecedented change, the irrigation community of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area will need strong leadership. She aimed to use her academic background and qualifications, her industry knowledge and the strong links she had with industry and the farming community to provide that leadership to her community.

Her Award ambition is to research current knowledge and thinking on innovation and change, to learn from other industries that have faced change and to map out opportunities for engaging industries and communities to manage change in the MIA.

2011 Victorian Winner – Angela Betheras

Trade negotiator

At the time of the Award, Angela Betheras was an alpaca breeder from Darnum, West Gippsland and principal of an integrated tourist enterprise ‘Nickelby by Darnum’. She was the first female to sit on the Committee of Lardner Park Events, the largest Farmworld event in the southern hemisphere and was previously Chair of the West Gippsland Gourmet Country Tourism Association.

In 2005 she traded the corporate world and an 18 year career in international trade and supply chain management with some of Australia’s major retailers to pursue her passion for alpaca breeding.

The alpaca industry has established itself as a credible and profitable fibre industry, boasting a total of 100,000 breeders. But, according to Angela, it needs to find new markets for its woollen products if it is to expand and support its breeders.

Angela’s Award ambition was to explore trade relations with China as an export market destination for exclusive Australian made alpaca garments and accessories.

China is the world’s largest consumer market, boasting a rapidly increasing number of affluent middle class consumers. Beijing and Shanghai between them have a population of 32 million people and many months of below zero temperatures.

Given her corporate background and her experience in facilitating trade, Angela believed she had the necessary skills and contacts, and understanding of the customs and culture, to initiate new trade relations with China and establish a new market for Australian alpaca products.

2011 National Runner Up and Queensland State Winner – Barbara Grey

Rural communicator

Barbara Grey from Mungindi, Queensland, has been an irrigated cotton grower since the early 1980’s. The innovative and efficient practices she and her husband have put in place on their farm led to them being awarded the prestigious Cotton Australia ‘Innovative Grower of the Year Award’ in 2007, and consistently being placed in the top five percentile of their region’s benchmarking group for cotton growing.

At the time of the Award, Barbara was Chair of the Women’s Industry Network – Cotton and Non-executive Director of the Cotton Co-operative Research Centre. She is a graduate of the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation, has completed an Advanced Diploma in Business and was enrolled in a Masters of Business Administration.

Barbara is committed to strong, healthy and productive rural industries and regional communities and is deeply concerned about what she believes is a growing disconnect between rural people and government and decision makers.

Her Award ambition was to implement a pilot education program that will empower aspiring rural and regional women leaders to gain a better understanding of the political process and government decision making which will help give them a stronger and more effective voice for rural industries and regional communities.

Barbara used the bursary to build her skills in project facilitation to give her the competencies to deliver on the pilot program. In the longer term, she believes the pilot could be replicated and become a regular training initiative for rural and regional women.

2011 South Australian Winner – Kim Blenkiron

Community capacity builder

Kim Blenkiron from Strathalbyn, South Australia, grew up on a farm in the Mallee and always knew her work and life would be in farming.

At the time of the Award, Kim and her husband had been farming for close to two decades, both on Kangaroo Island and on the mainland at Strathalbyn. Her industry involvement included working with Agriculture Kangaroo Island and representing Kangaroo Island on the SA Advisory Board of Agriculture.

At the time of the Award, Kim was the State Coordinator of Partners in Grain in South Australia.  In this role she worked with key women in regional communities to develop their professional skills and self confidence. In holding that position she established and ran an impressive 13 self-directed learning groups.

Kim is committed to supporting the professional development of rural women and believes that their skill sets are critical to the management of individual businesses and to the profitability of industry generally.

Kim’s Award ambition is to better support rural women to achieve their personal and professional goals and ambitions for their industries and communities. She planned to run a series of workshops to transfer her coaching and communication skills to rural women to increase the capacity of rural communities.

2011 National Winner and Western Australian State Winner – Caroline Robinson

Rural entrepreneur

At the time of the Award, Caroline Robinson lived in Woolocutty, Western Australia and was a rural development consultant specialising in community development, strategic engagement and project management, and a wheat and sheep producer from Woolocutty in the Western Australian wheat belt. 

Caroline is the brains behind the Wheatbelt Business Network (WBN), established to promote local produce and regional tourism, and to provide opportunities for entrepreneurship and networking, training and education and the advancement of women in business.

The WBN fast became the glue that bound many of the communities of the wheat belt together during an extremely difficult drought period. Since its formal launch in March 2010 the Network became a central point on the eastern wheatbelt for news and information, and a hub for businesses to promote their services and products. The Network was supported by five local shires, and in some of those shires has the support of half their businesses.

Caroline’s Award ambition is to further develop the Network as a conduit to investment into the region, as a vehicle to help businesses support each other and to encourage business to engage in electronic and social media and marketing. 

She planned to research and develop a Buy Local marketing campaign for the wheat belt that will emphasise local consumer loyalty and the value of business-to-business sales.

She used the bursary to visit other rural communities and learn from their strategies. She coordinated a survey of local government and key stakeholders across the wheat belt to identify the gaps within the local economy and the scope for existing businesses and prospective new businesses to fill those gaps.  She then intended to embark on a comprehensive marketing campaign for the entire region.

Caroline believes that encouraging people to buy local will not only help the viability of businesses but provide an opportunity for new business ventures and alternate income streams for rural people. She thinks the Buy Local marketing campaign has the potential to be adopted by other communities across the country.

2011 Tasmanian Winner – Jackie Brown

Agricultural educator

Jackie Brown from Brighton, Tasmania, is a leader in the field of agricultural education in Australia. Since the early 1980’s she has been committed to agricultural education and to raising awareness of the dynamic and diversified number of career pathways that agriculture offers students.

Jackie was the driving force behind the development of the Bridgewater High School Farm in Brighton, Tasmania. She was instrumental in building the farm into a nationally recognised and highly utilised educational facility.

The farm provides vocational training, work skills programs and agricultural science, as well as a diverse range of short courses.

Her Award ambition is to raise awareness of the serious shortage of students pursuing a career in agriculture, and the importance of making agricultural education accessible to all students, in both rural and urban communities.

Jackie planned to investigate international best practice in agricultural studies by visiting a range of agricultural training providers in the United Kingdom, with the intention of implementing more innovative programs for teachers and students in Tasmania.

There was no winner in 2011 for the Northern Territory

2010 New South Wales Winner – Lana Mitchell

European and United Kingdom wildflower market study tour

Lana Mitchell is a commercial cut-flower grower and a pioneer of the Australian wildflower industry, having bred and achieved plant breeding rights for ‘White Romance’ the tallest and largest flannel flower on the market.

Lana ‘s Award ambition was twofold: to support the Australian wildflower industry through better communication and collaboration and to move beyond an emerging industry and to take Australian wildflowers into the European market.

Lana’s Award project involved an international study tour to Europe and the United Kingdom to study two successful business models, the Flower and Plant Association of the UK and the Flower Council of Holland. She extended the tour to include Israel, world leaders in flower production, to learn from their research and development and marketing and promotion efforts.

As a direct result of the study tour, Lana concluded that without a compulsory marketing levy, as is currently the case in Australia, the marketing models of both the UK and Holland are not adaptable or workable in Australia.

However Lana believed that the establishment of New Rural Industries Australia, a new organisation set up to better coordinate and collaborate production and marketing information across new rural industries, would provide the ideal vehicle for the Australian wildflower industry. Lana was appointed a Director of NRIA and editor of their magazine.

Lana’s project delivered an Australian first. The project was been successful in securing a permit from the Israeli government for export of flannel flowers into their country. A licensed propagation company will supply growers with mother stock, to enable build-up of sufficient volume to export flowers from Israel into Europe. The logistics and cost entailed meant that export through Israel was the only option. The agreement would see Australian wildflowers penetrate the European market, and so creating recognition for Australian flora and building demand for Australian wildflowers.

2010 National Runner-Up and Victorian State Winner – Alana Johnson

Growing stronger agriculture through philanthropy

Alana Johnson believes in the establishment a philanthropic foundation for agriculture to enable people to put something back into rural Australia.

Alana highlighted that there were philanthropic funds for heath, the arts, sport and education, but not for agriculture.

Alana was hoping to fill this void, and worked to establish the Australian Agriculture Future Foundation that would provide an avenue for people on the land to create a legacy to rural Australia by investing their wealth back into agriculture.

For the 28 years leading up to the Award, Alana was involved in cattle production, farm forestry and landscape renovation with her husband and sons on their property outside Benalla in Victoria.

In this time, she also played a lead role in the development of rural women’s leadership and capacity building.  She was a founding member of Australian Women in Agriculture, past President of the Foundation for Australian Agricultural Women and she held the rural portfolio on the Board of the Victorian Women’s Trust.

As a rural consultant Alana is recognised nationally and internationally for her work on farm succession planning, change management in the rural sector and leadership training for rural women. She is a graduate of the Australian Rural Leadership Program and undertook research for a PhD on the history of the rural women’s movement in Australia.

Alana said the gave her a platform and for others to recognise the time is right for a philanthropic fund for agriculture.

2010 Queensland Winner – Sharyn Garrett

Raising the profile of kangaroo harvesting

Sharyn Garrett believes the key to achieving a higher profile for the kangaroo industry is for harvesters and landholders to work more closely together to create an industry which is profitable, sustainable, and enjoys a more positive image. 

At the time of the Award, Sharyn was a partner in a macropod harvesting enterprise, Secretary of  the Queensland Macropod and Wild Game Harvesters Association  and Executive Officer of the Booringa Action Group - a not for profit community organisation in south west Queensland.

Sharyn’s vision is for landholders and harvesters to work co-operatively to recognise and utilise the kangaroo as a resource, and not just a pest. She was working to establish the first ever kangaroo harvesters and growers co-operative and she wanted to use the Award bursary to develop the cooperative’s business strategy.

The cooperative would provide rangeland landholders with the opportunity to invest in a business that utilises kangaroos and generates income from them.

She believed the cooperative would result in higher returns for producers, better kangaroo management practices and less pressure on grazing land.

When Sharyn was awarded the Queensland RIRDC Rural Women’s Award, it was recognition of her hard work to grow the kangaroo harvesting industry in a sustainable way.

2010 South Australian Winner – Ulli Spranz

A taste for biodynamics and organics

Ulli Spranz describes as “mind blowing” the extent to which her organics company has grown since its establishment in 1988.  Ulli is widely regarded as a pioneer in biodynamic and organic farming in Australia.

For the more than 20 years prior to her Award she has lived and worked at Paris Creek in the Adelaide Hills, where she and her husband operate a successful biodynamic farming property, a milk processing plant and a cheese processing plant. She employs 55 people, processes 8 million litres of milk a year and sells in excess of $10 million in product annually.

What makes Ulli’s farm unique is that all her produce is grown organically and biodynamically.

Ulli’s passion for organics stems from her belief that organic and biodynamic food is not only good for people, but it’s good for the environment too.

Ulli was one of the founding members of the Biodynamic and Organic Agricultural Bureau, a farmer organisation established to network and exchange experiences. At the time of the Award she was Chair of Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd which is recognised as the most successful biodynamic organization worldwide.  She was also a committee member with Standards Australia for the Organic and Biodynamic Standard.

Ulli is passionate about educating others in biodynamic and organic farming principles and she holds monthly meetings with farmers to study biodynamic farming. Her Award ambition is to expand her educational role by organising workshops throughout Australia to promote biodynamic and organic farming principles.

2010 National Winner and Western Australian State Winner – Sue Middleton

Creating a more environmentally sustainable pork industry

Sue Middleton doesn’t regard piggery waste as a worthless resource.  Instead, she believes it has enormous potential to be used more positively to generate energy. At the time of the Award, Sue and her husband managed a diverse range of farming operations, including 210 hectare citrus orchard and  a 13,000 thousand acre grain enterprise. They have diversified into the pork industry through the purchase of a PIC multiplier herd unit and leased and managed the Pig Skills Centre Breeding Unit at Muresk in WA.

Sue’s Award ambition is to pursue the commercialisation of biogas as a business opportunity.  She sees the Award as the perfect platform to progress her research and to educate others on enormous opportunities associated with biogas. Sue firmly believes that the Rural Women’s Award plays an important role in recognising and encouraging greater contributions from women in rural Australia.

Preliminary research undertaken by the pork industry demonstrated that using piggery waste to generate electricity is a viable proposition for most piggeries.  The research came at a time when the agriculture industry was looking for ways to play a more positive environmental role and reduce its carbon emissions.

Her contribution to rural leadership included sitting on the inaugural Regional Women’s Advisory Council advising government on issues impacting on rural women and rural communities, serving on the National Rural Advisory Council responsible for national drought policy and sitting on the Regional Solutions Board.

Sue used the bursary to travel to New Zealand and Europe to investigate some of the world’s most outstanding food waste processing and biogas production facilities. 

 Sue said the Award is about recognising women who are stepping up into leadership positions and hopefully giving other women permission to achieve.

2010 Tasmanian Winner – Gabbi Bresnehan

Supporting rural women in need

At the time of the Award, Gabbi Bresnehan was a fifth generation farmer and manager of a texel sheep, prime lamb and mixed cropping enterprise in the Southern Midlands of Tasmania.

Gabbi’s Award ambition was to support rural women by providing them with practical support and time out to network so that they could continue to perform in the various roles demanded of them within their families and enterprises, industries and communities.

Gabbi’s project involved staging a series of workshops to give women a day off work while providing them with new skills, new networks and access to rural support services.

Gabbi coordinated three workshops, the first two specialising in cheese making, one held at Oatlands in the Southern Midlands and the other at Westbury in the Northern Midlands, with the third workshop, a leather making workshop, to be held in the Southern Midlands before the end of 2010.

Gabbi’s efforts provided rural women across Tasmania with practical support, the opportunity to connect up with other rural women and some real respite from the pressures of drought. The workshops encouraged a number of women to establish new enterprises and cottage industries and helped boost membership of Tasmanian Women in Agriculture.

Gabbi’s project also provided a conduit for other rural services, including Department of Primary Industries, Rural Financial Counselling, Relationships Australia and CentreLink to better connect with rural women.

With support from TWiA, Gabbi  successfully applied for a grant to run another cheese making workshop and she will continue to seek new funding opportunities for future workshops.

The Award required Gabbi to speak in public on issues relevant to rural women, so raising her profile and her confidence in public speaking, The effort involved in coordinating also increased Gabbi’s organisational and leadership skills.

2010 Northern Territory Winner – Carmel Ball

Improving the profile and professionalism of the Northern Territory Seafood Industry

At the time of the Award, Carmel Ball was owner-operator of the Darwin Fish Markets, the only fresh seafood market in the Northern Territory promoting and selling only Australian seafood, with 98% of their product sourced locally. She had been involved in the aquaculture industry in the Territory for over a decade, as a consultant in quality assurance and human resource management.

Carmel’s ambition is to improve the level of professionalism and raise the public profile of the Northern Territory seafood industry.

The centrepiece of Carmel’s project was the production of the Territory’s first comprehensive seafood cookbook, to profile and celebrate the industry and to provide consumers with knowledge and recipes on how to prepare and cook local seafood cuisine.

Carmel’s project involved extensive communication and collaboration with government and industry. She received official endorsement of the book by the NT Seafood Council and its inclusion as part of the Board’s strategic and marketing plan, with a subcommittee established to progress the cookbook to publication.

Her project also involved the production and distribution of marketing material for the ‘Support Local Caught’ campaign, supported by the major supermarket chains throughout the Territory and in Kununurra in Western Australia.

Carmel was elected Chair of the Trader and Processing Committee on the Northern Territory Seafood Council Board, a position she aspired to retaining for two terms.

The Award required Carmel to speak at a number of significant events, including the Australian Women in Agriculture 2010 National Conference and the NT Westpac ‘Learn, Lead and Succeed’ Forum.

Carmel anticipated the Northern Territory Seafood Cookbook to be published and available to the public before the end of 2012.

2002 New South Wales Winner - Robbie Sefton

Hunters and Gatherers - a Better Way of Understanding the Information Needs of Rural Australia

Robbie has a dual investment in rural Australia, as a producer, running a farm business involved in wool, meat and grains and as a communication consultant, running a national and specialist public relations agency catering to clients who need to communicate with rural, regional and remote Australia. 

Robbie’s vision is for a vibrant and tenacious rural Australia, full of opportunities for a healthy future for the next generation of primary producers and regional communities and with it a stronger voice for rural Australia.

She believes a better understanding of the issues driving rural communities and their people, will allow both public and private sector organisations to better target the delivery of products and services required to sustain rural Australia. 

Her proposed activity involved the development of a network of ‘hunters and gatherers’ of social, economic and biophysical information throughout rural and regional Australia. 

The overriding objective of the project was to establish and evaluate the way in which the ‘hunters and gatherers’ concept could be implemented to assist in improving two-way communications with rural, regional and remote Australia.  The project would fill what is a serious void in accurate, reliable and current information on rural Australia and would set up an enduring framework for reliable data collection from rural communities. 

Information collected was to include: 

• Economic -Economic drivers, key industries, employment trends & key business developments.
• Social -Health, education, telecommunication and other services.
• Cultural and Demographic - Aboriginal, women & youth issues. 
• Political – federal, state & local. 
• Media.

The ultimate aim of the proposal was to have a “hunter-gatherer” network, with over 1,000 villages, towns and rural cities, each with a district population of 2,000 or more, throughout Australia feeding into the information network. 

A draft Strategic Plan was completed and included an analysis of relevant sociological research, an examination of previous rural and regional communication initiatives and consultation with government, media, business, social and technology organisations. Importantly the plan reinforced the need for accurate and timely data and has won strong support from key public and private sector organisations. 

The specifications for the gathering, amalgamation and analysis of data were completed and were used as the basis to prepare a briefing document for the ‘hunters and gatherers’, to ensure uniformity of materials gathered, to provide for direct comparison and meaningful analysis.

Initial assessment of a range of rural communities within New South Wales, deemed suitable to be involved in the pilot program, along with a preliminary analysis of potential participants in each area, was undertaken.  A pilot program, involving rural communities targeted within New South Wales, was scheduled for implementation in late 2003.  The success of the pilot program was critical to the future roll out of the program, both within New South Wales and Australia wide. 

Robbie believes the implications of the concept would be significant for the way in which private and public sector entities relate to rural and regional Australia. The delivery of this information will allow government agencies, business and industry organisations to develop policy, programs and services, which not only meet the needs of rural and regional areas, but will also be embraced by the people living within those communities. 

Robbie believes passionately that for rural and regional Australia to prosper and grow, rural women must be given the opportunity to be economically empowered and financially independent. She believes her project when fully operational would allow over 1,000 women the opportunity to have an additional income through information collection, income that was previously not available to them.

In the twelve months of the Award Robbie learnt more about what life is really like in the bush and has been truly humbled by the experiences the Award has given her. The overwhelming key learnings during the year include:

• Women are the silent partners yet they are the glue that hold families and communities together.
• Young women are around but too busy to be seen.
• Women in the bush are aging and tired but remain resilient and passionate.
• Women in the bush are wise.
• Farming families are not encouraging their children to return to the farm.
• Life on the farm is becoming ever more challenging for all involved.

Her personal goal is to be as generous and as gracious with her new learnings in life, by passing these on to other women on her journey in life, and repay the compliment of women to her over past years.

2002 Victoria Winner - Carol Mathew

Alpaca Processing and Markets in the Outside World

At the time of the Award Carol Mathew was an alpaca stud breeder and a Director of the Australian Alpaca Association and the industry representative on the RIRDC Rare Natural Fibre Committee. Carol’s vision is to see the Australian Alpaca Industry become a viable agricultural industry, which value-adds to the Australian clip. 

The Australian herd is currently estimated to number 50,000 animals, making it the largest herd outside South America, where in Peru the herd totals three million and in Bolivia and Chile, between them, 1 .5 million head. The Australian alpaca industry is a new and emerging agricultural industry and in 2002 was at a critical stage of its development. In 2002, while domestic demand outstripped processing capacity and supply, the herd size was predicted to more than double within five years, making the establishment of processing capacity and export markets critical to the industry’s future viability and success.

The primary objective of Carol’s proposed activity was to assist the industry value-add to the clip, by firstly, seeking out scouring and processing opportunities offshore, before acquiring knowledge of export processing requirements, export demand, opportunities and niches, necessary to secure new markets for the clip. Her proposed activity involved two major study tours, the first to New Zealand and the second and larger tour to Japan, the UK and Italy. 

The New Zealand tour involved meeting with key members of the NZ industry, including the New Zealand Alpaca Association, the Wool Research Organisation of New Zealand, along with numerous fibre producing and processing firms. As a direct result of her tour, the Australian Alpaca Cooperative entered into business arrangements with a number of New Zealand firms, who committed to commercially scouring the Australian clip.  The second study tour involved meetings with international industry representatives in Tokyo, London, Leeds, Florence (including the Pitti Filati Trade Fair) and other Italian cities. 

While the tour revealed the fibre market internationally and alpaca prices alike to be depressed, valuable contacts were made and knowledge gained on fibre blends and trends, export capacity and demand and possible opportunities for the Australian clip.

Key learnings from the tour included the international market emphasis on blends as a continuously evolving point of difference, the fact that if Italian processors do not use the fleece it does not make the retail shelves, along with strong feedback on the quality of the Australian clip and the belief that the Australian industry knows how to produce superior fibre.

Significantly one top Italian manufacturing firm expressed a keen interest in developing an exclusive alliance with Australia alpaca. The major hurdle to the alliance being forged was the Australian industry’s capacity to deliver the required supply. 

The implications of Carol’s project on the Australian alpaca industry were very significant, not only in the knowledge and contacts gained, but in the opening up of new opportunities for processing in New Zealand and new possibilities to export into Italy. These opportunities steered the industry in the right direction to securing its long-term viability and longevity.  The twelve months were personally challenging for Carol and resulted in numerous speaking engagements, including keynote address to the Australian Alpaca National Conference and talks to the Australian Sheep & Wool Show and the Victorian Alpaca Fiesta.

The Award also considerably expanded Carol’s international contacts and her knowledge of the global fibre market and the threats and opportunities the Australian industry faces. This knowledge has enabled her to argue points of view more successfully and succinctly, in discussions on issues pertinent to the industry.

2002 Queensland Winner - Mary Lankester

The Business of Tropical Wine

Mary is a banana grower from Northern Queensland and an active industry participant, sitting on the Executive Committee of the Innisfail Banana Growers Association and at the Time of the Award was the only woman member on the industry benchmarking Better Banana Group.  Her vision is for a vibrant and positive rural Australia, by developing new and alternate agricultural industries, which offer career opportunities for the regions and for the next generation. 

Mary was frustrated with the excessive wastage of fruit, with close to 15% of the state’s bananas sent to the fresh fruit market rejected due to minor skin blemishes. 

Her proposed activity involved the development of a regional industry and tourism venture in tropical fruit wines, by utilising the discarded second grade fruit.  The objectives of her proposed activity were three fold: 

• To construct a business plan, complete with a targeted marketing plan for the tropical wine venture. 
• To upskill herself and the venture, with training in winemaking and business and marketing skills along with knowledge on best practice winery design and quality assurance export standards, while seeking out opportunities for business mentoring.
• To establish a laboratory to monitor quality controls and ensure consistent product development. 

In her 12 month tenure Mary attended some 36 courses, with a focus on leadership, business and winemaking, with all courses relevant to the development of the tropical fruit wine industry.  The business plan was completed, an Australian Institute of Company Director’s course attended and passed and supply chain avenues to Japan were explored.

The laboratory was established to the stage of monitoring product development and satisfying all legal requirements. Equipment was installed in the laboratory, and most importantly the ReflectoQuant has made testing quality and accuracy significantly faster and more reliable.

The winery was fitted out and now named “Paradise Wines” with the first commercial production in May 2002, coinciding with her first major taste-testing undertaken in Victoria in May 2002 at the “Best of Australian Banquet” as part of AFFA’s Women in Innovation program.

On a personal level, Mary can now boast a solid knowledge of winemaking, business and marketing, knowledge that she has been able to share through media, community groups and conferences to the fruit wine industry, both within Australia and abroad.

Mary’s project was the catalyst behind the start-up of other tropical fruit ventures and was instrumental in the establishment of the Association for Tropical Northern Queensland Wineries, upon which she was Vice-President. 

The Association was the first fruit wine association of its type in Australia. It boasted 30 members at the time of the Award and was rapidly expanding.

2002 South Australian Winner - June Gill

Equilibrium

June lives in the small fishing town of Port Victorian on the Yorke Peninsula and has spent her working life in the wild catch commercial fishing industry, from deckhand with her father to a working Company Director of a business she shares with her family. 

Her enduring passion has been to lift the awareness of the important role women play in the seafood industry and for the seafood industry to be recognised as ‘more than a bunch of blokes in boats’ but rather as a seafood community. Her determination and perseverance saw the foundation of the South Australian Women’s Industry Network in 1999 and its transition into a national entity, and the Women’s Industry Network Seafood Community in 2000, which she was elected founding President.

Her vision is to provide seafood women, both in South Australia and nationally, with learning opportunities and with the support and resources to pursue new business goals and stronger industry involvement.  June, through her day to day contact and conversations with women in the fishing industry, identified a need for a document that would provide them with information and strategies for dealing with industry and government and for furthering themselves and their businesses.

The major objective of her proposed activity was to utilise her current skills, knowledge and experience, through compiling and writing a practical handbook that would provide a clear and useful set of strategies to support seafood women. 

Extensive research was undertaken prior to compiling the book, including expansive reading on available literature, internet searches and extensive consultation with relevant agencies and her target audience, to make sure the book truly satisfied its potential customers’ needs.  The book titled “Equilibrium” comprised a number of sections: 

• How to Begin - Information gathering, support groups, rights and services, organising yourself, exchange of information process and keeping it organised. 
• How to Select Professionals or Agencies - Preparing for meetings, assessment, selecting professionals, selecting an agency and a word of caution. 
• How to Deal with Professionals - Preparing for meetings, assessment, meeting and conferences, breaking impasses and applying pressure.
• CD-Rom Business Directory.

 “Equilibrium” (Equilibrium is any condition in which all acting influences are cancelled by others, resulting in a stable, balanced or unchanging state) was launched in Adelaide on World Rural Women’s Day-15 October 2002, to a gathering of some sixty industry and government leaders.

As of 1 May 2003 two hundred copies of the book had been distributed and an additional two hundred sold and distributed throughout South Australia.

The 12-month tenure of the Award changed June’s views on people’s skill development and on their level of confidence and confirmed the need for such a book. The Award provided the resources to put her vision into action. The book, she believes, will be a valuable tool for women, not just in the seafood industry, but across industries, to further themselves and their business ventures. 

On a personal level, June says the Award provided her with new opportunities to network and develop lasting friendships with rural women and new opportunities to promote her passion - the seafood community.

2002 Western Australia Winner - Angela Whittington

Review of the future potential for plum breeding in Western Australia in relation to the International Plum Industry

Angela’s involvement in horticulture in Western Australia has crossed many facets of the industry from importing horticultural machinery to owning and operating a wholesale fruit and vegetable operation and one of the state’s largest stonefruit export operations, to in more recent times growing stonefruit on farm.

Angela is motivated by the huge opportunities that Western Australia and its proximity to South East Asia offers the horticultural industry and by the opportunities the horticultural industry affords rural women. 

While at the time of the Award Western Australia produced only 10% of Australia’s plum production, it produced 20 major plum varieties and was responsible for 60% of total exports. At the time of the Award, world consumption of plums exceeded 9 million tonnes, with over half of world consumption and production in China. The rapid emergence of China as a market within the previous 10 years had been a key factor behind the industry’s expansion in Australia, and South Africa and Chile.

Total world production of plums doubled in the five years to 2001, with exports exceeding $250m US dollars per annum. Angela believes that Western Australia, in terms of growing conditions, seasons and proximity to market, is uniquely positioned to capitalise on the opportunity that China presents, if the state’s industry can come up with a plum with growing and eating qualities, superior to its competitors and at the most opportune time for the market.

Her proposed activity involved reviewing the potential for plum breeding in Western Australia, by way of a study tour of our industry’s major off-season competitor - the United States - and our major export customer, SE Asia. The key objectives of her proposed activity were to:

• Develop an in-depth understanding of the international market for plums. 
• Develop an understanding of breeding programs in Australia and how they compare to the world’s largest breeder of plums, the United States. 
• Develop an understanding of the SE Asian market and the potential for Australia to supply that market into the future. 

The study tour of the United States, concentrated on the West Coast, focusing on the major growing region of the San Joaquin Valley in California and visiting major producers, packers and exporters, along with researchers behind US breeding programs.  The second stage of the tour involved our major export customers of Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and China, with meetings with key importing and government officials, along with inspections of markets and their infrastructure.  In addition, a brief tour of the domestic industry was undertaken, to fully quantify the Australian industry, and took in Swan Hill and Shepparton in Victoria and the Granite Belt of Queensland.  The major conclusion Angela has drawn from her study tours is that while there are many opportunities, there are just as many challenges ahead for the Western Australian industry.

The United States industry, with its long history of plant breeding and its strong protection through plant variety rights, meant that it will continue to be the dominant breeder of new plum cultivars and would continue to set the benchmark in new varieties for the major international growers, exporters and importers.

The reality is that while many thousands of varieties of plums may go to trial at any one time, of which some 10-20 varieties may reach commercial release, the cost of replacing existing trees with new patented varieties, when international buyers are reluctant to pay the premiums required, results in few new varieties becoming commercially accepted and planted in any great quantity. 

Against these cost impediments, is a supply chain where very few importers or consumers in Asia can identify more than two or three plum varieties, providing little incentive for new varieties with superior eating qualities, let alone the guarantee of varietial recognition and a premium price from export markets. 

Despite these conclusions, Angela believes the study tour and the knowledge she gained had some important implications on the Western Australian industry. She firmly believes that rather than trying to compete with the United States through traditional breeding programs, the Australian industry should be concentrating its efforts of fast tracking breeding through genetic engineering programs, along with reducing costs and streamlining the trailing and release of new cultivars, so that they are identified and accessed in a much faster and transparent way. 

The Award provided Angela with the opportunity to gain a more insightful and comprehensive level of understanding about the structure and workings of the international traded plum market. These insights she believes will be far reaching as she applies it to her own environment and to encouraging the Western Australian plum industry to the next level of production and international competitiveness.

2002 Tasmania Winner - Jeanette Reader

Import Replacement of Processed Asia Vegetables-Daikon Radish the Test Case

Jeanette, in partnership with her husband, runs a mixed farming enterprise, in Tasmania’s Northern Midlands comprising of predominantly crops along with cattle and prime lambs. The cropping regime is centred on seed crops, namely hybrid cabbage seed, poppies and pyrethrum.  Jeanette’s vision is to provide new opportunities for Tasmanian farming families, through the development of new products and the opening up of new markets. 

She is very concerned about the reliance of farming families within the state, on too few industries and too few processors, to guarantee a satisfactory and reliable income. She believes that there are untapped industries and value adding opportunities within Tasmania that if proven, will benefit enormously farming families. 

Her proposed activity focused on the production and processing of Asian vegetables and initially Daikong radishes as a new opportunity for the state.  Research undertaken into pickled and dried Asian vegetables, revealed that while Australia during the late 1990’s exported around A$40million processed vegetables, it also imported A$132million of products including processed Asian vegetables.

Trials undertaken in the early 1990’s proved that Asian vegetables could be successfully grown in Tasmania. The overriding objective of Jeanette’s project was to develop a new industry and new opportunities for farming enterprises, by growing and processing a product with a guaranteed market through replacing imports, and a guaranteed financial return by avoiding the demand and price fluctuations of the fresh market. 

On the production front, variety trials were re-established and from the initial cull of less than optimal varieties, seven varieties were chosen for initial planting. Varieties were selected on their suitability to climatic conditions and physical traits for processing. Varieties found suitable to local Tasmania conditions included Summer Cross and Okura Cross, with Super Cloud and Relish Cross requiring further trial work to test suitability.

On the processing front, contact was made with key researchers to discuss major issues, including pickling solutions, drying conditions and physical treatment of product. Pleasingly the pickling solution Jeanette trialled was similar to that used extensively in official laboratory testing and thus ideal for processing, while research has revealed optimal drying conditions to be at low temperature and slow, to avoid any detrimental effect on flavour and colour. The physical treatment of the product, be it slicing, dicing or cutting into strips would be determined by the market itself. 

Vacuum packing the product was also investigated and shown to be beneficial in extending the shelf life of the product, while presenting it in an easy to use format. 

The potential demand for the processed vegetables and possible markets were also investigated. A visit to Food Science at Werribee, confirmed a market domestically for pickled product, including Daikon radish and Daikon leaf. A visit to the Melbourne market resulted in contact with a company that supplies processing plant machinery, which will be invaluable for future infrastructure. A visit to the Defense Nutrition Research Centre at Scottsdale was important in discussing food safety issues and testing their pickling solution; a test that returned positive results. 

While much work was to be done, including a successful planting, numerous processing issues and securing necessary markets, Jeanette believed the initial results of her efforts to be extremely promising. She believed the project offered, long term, the opportunity of a new enterprise and an alternate and additional source of farm income and greater financial independence and security. She also believes her project offers rural women the opportunity of a new enterprise and the challenge of fully utilising their wide range of skills. 

The most significant outcome would have been the development of a product, with a guaranteed and consistent supply, necessary to allow farming enterprises reliable and consistent returns and the opportunity of being financially self-reliant, while intrinsically involved in the total production to processing process.

On a personal level the Award boosted Jeanette’s skills development and confidence. Her project put her in the spotlight, both at an industry and government level, where she has been selected to represent women at a committee and board level, on an issue she is passionate about, the education and training of young people.

2002 Northern Territory Winner - Kate Hadden

Building Sustainable Indigenous Economies through Natural Resource Development

Kate has close to fifteen years experience in sustainable land management and at the time of the Award was the Environment and Heritage Officer for the Tiwi Land Council. Kate’s vision for natural resource management generally and for the Tiwi people in particular, is to build sustainable economies around the development of natural resources without compromising cultural and natural heritage values. 

The Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory are actively exploring development opportunities as a means of gaining self-determination through economic independence. There has long been concern from Tiwi leaders that reliance on the welfare system does not provide a vehicle for sustained economic opportunities or positive social outcomes. 

The Inuit people of Canada are regarded as having successfully attained self-determination and are now focusing on building a sustainable system that will advance socio-economic development through natural resource utilisation. 

Kate’s proposed activity centred on a tour of Nunavat and the Inuit people, in the belief that first-hand knowledge of their situation would be of immense value to the Tiwi people and to natural resource management in the Northern Territory. 

The overall objective of the project was to gain first-hand experience and knowledge of how an indigenous society is successfully shifting from traditional custodianship of land to contemporary resource management, while improving social and economic outcomes for their people. Particular emphasis was placed on resource development and on the balance between resource utilisation and the maintenance of natural resource and cultural values. 

Kate spent one month visiting and studying Inuit organisations and enterprises in Nunavut. Main activities included meetings and discussions with a range of organisations and individuals, to gain information and insight into the processes and procedures governing indigenous control of land and land administration, along with the development of sustainable economic ventures through natural resource utilisation. Kate met with representatives of the Canadian Federal Government, to Government of Nunavut, to Inuit representative bodies and Inuit owned businesses. 

Kate believes that the Inuit experience has conclusively proven that the development of economic opportunities if linked to self-determination and self-management will have positive social outcomes. While it is unlikely that the Tiwi Islands will attain territorial status, as the Inuit people have, there remain important elements within the Nunavat model that can be applied to the current Tiwi situation. 

One of the major issues facing Tiwi leadership is that of ownership of natural resources. Under current Federal and Territory legislation, cultural and natural heritage values and largely determined by non-Tiwi people, with ownership vested in relevant Ministers. 

This has translated to some dis-empowerment of Tiwi leaders to negotiate economic projects with potential investors and a lack of incentive to landowners to manage their resources responsibly. A unique feature of Nunavut decision-making has been the creation of Institutions of Public Government, where decisions on natural resource management are vested with the majority Inuit people.

 IPG’s form the cornerstone to Inuit ownership and control over natural resource usage, with Territory and Federal governments legally bound to accept the majority decisions of the Board. Similar structures and procedures over Aboriginal owned land would greatly enhance and streamline natural resource management and its sustainable commercialisation. 

The Nunavut government has recognised the importance of baseline information to sustaining resources. Funding was allocated to undertake studies into wildlife, which had been used to allocate quotas for traditional harvest and determine levels surplus for economic use. The paucity of baseline data on the Tiwi Islands had led to legislative bodies invoking the ‘precautionary principle’ which, while sound in terms of sustainable management, does not afford opportunities for commercial development. 

The Nunavut government also recognised serious deficiencies in physical infrastructure and that costly investment will be crucial to economic and social development. At the time of the Award the Tiwi were at a critical stage of development, with trial aquaculture and forestry industries proving viable and at the stage of providing significant employment and investment income. Gaps in physical infrastructure, including roads, ports, airstrips and accommodation, were constraining the realisation of economic dependence through core industries. 

The Inuit peoples transition from custodial land use had not been without its social challenges, including family breakdowns, youth suicide and domestic violence. However there was general agreement that self-determination is positive and would bring more opportunities to the region and a pride and sense of self-worth to its people. Key factors that the Inuit people have identified, that have contributed to a successful transition include competent and committed expatriate professional staff, acknowledgement of the vested interest of traditional people in the region, community input into decision making and local jobs and training opportunities. 

All of the above factors are valuable lessons that can be applied equally to indigenous rural communities in the Northern Territory as they explore opportunities for self-determination and economic independence. 

 

On a personal level Kate gained a greater understanding of the processes, procedures and pitfalls associated with the transition in Nunavut - from individual as well as institutional points of view. The fact that there are significant parallels between the two areas and the obvious benefits to Inuit, provides confirmation that the Tiwi are heading in a positive direction and that the challenges they face are not all unique.

This greatly increased Kate’s confidence in her role with Tiwi people and organisations and provided her with another dimension when dealing with government agencies. More importantly, it supported her vision that the balance between natural resource development and the maintenance of cultural and natural resource values is worth working towards.

2001 New South Wales Winner - Jon-Maree Baker

Skills and training to ensure the cotton industry's future sustainability

At the time of the Award, Jon-Maree had held the position of Executive Officer of Cotton Consultants Australia since 1997 and was the youngest Director of the Australian Cotton Industry Council. She owns and operates, in partnership with her husband, Baker Ag Services, and runs a farm specialising in Santa Gertrudis beef cattle and Australian stock horses.

Jon-Maree facilitated the first meeting of the Women's Industry Network Cotton, which resulted in the formation of a working group to progress the establishment of a network for the sharing of information and ideas.

Her vision for the cotton industry was one where all members, both male and female, are qualified and equipped to meet the changing demands of government, community and regulators.

She is committed to ensuring women have access to the necessary skills and training to enable them to play a greater role and in turn ensure the cotton industry's future sustainability. Jon-Maree was committed to establishing a pilot course that offers technical, business and leadership training to women across her industry.

She believed there was a real demand for such a course and believed it would be the catalyst to fostering a strong network among cotton women, to ensuring women's future involvement and contribution to their industry and to a strategy for women within the industry's overall strategic plan. She also believed the pilot course once developed would have widespread application across other rural industries for the benefit of women across agriculture.

2001 Victoria Winner - Sharyn Munnerley

The Development of the Australian Calf Rearing Research Centre

Sharyn is recognised as one of the country’s leading consultant’s in calf rearing, having spent close to the past decade researching its best practice.  Her vision was to turn calf rearing into a viable and sustainable industry in its own right. She believes there are huge opportunities for the dairy and beef industries to turn what has traditionally been regarded as a by-product into an economically valuable resource.  It is estimated that calf mortality is as high as 465,000 head per annum, representing a 10% loss in productivity to the Australian cattle industry.

Her proposed activity centred around the establishment of the Australian Calf Rearing Research Centre, to educate and facilitate the correct management of calves to producers and the broader community. The Centre would provide farmers with access to theoretical knowledge and practical skills and the opportunity to form valuable networks. Information would be available through the Centre by way of lectures and courses, field days, publications and videos and a dedicated website. 

Despite a number of major setbacks, including a major rezoning resulting in the relocation of the Centre and a failure to secure funding for new infrastructure, much of the information and technology was available to producers. 

The Centre’s website was launched in January 2002 - www.acrrc.com - and was positively received by rearers and industry groups throughout Australia.  The publication “The ABC of Calf Rearing” was launched at the Lardner Park Field Days in March 2002.  In addition, numerous courses and seminars were delivered and well received with negotiations currently underway to incorporate structured calf rearing educational packages into TAFE and agricultural colleges and schools. 

Eleven specifically designed calf rearing short courses were implemented covering various competencies, including buying and selecting calves, the importance of colostrum, feeding and weaning, digestion and nutrition, general management, disease prevention and management, targeted weight gains and growth rates, body scoring and muscle assessment and standards and legislation.  In addition, Centre staff attended numerous field days, including Lardner Park, Stanhope and Acme, where an average of 700 people a day and at Denison, where 200 people visited the stand and sought out information on calf rearing.

The Centre was involved in the development of new products designed to aid in calf health and welfare and was commissioned to support the development of other major cattle management projects. 

The Centre has had a significant impact on calf rearing practices and has already gained much credibility from rural organisations and educational institutions alike. In specific terms it has enhanced employment outcomes and business opportunities for new and existing calf rearers while providing regional economic benefits. A potential $5,000 in life-span production per animal was realised, and mortality and morbidity rates have been reduced.

At a personal level, Sharyn believes the Award and the skills and recognition she has gained from it, to be one of the pivotal and turning points in her life, and has enabled her to achieve her driving ambition and long term vision, for the Australian Calf Rearing Centre.

2001 Queensland Winner - Dianne Gresham

Web Ahead

Di Gresham is a dairy farmer, who in partnership with her husband and family operates a 400 cow dairy farm, outside Gympie, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. At the time of the Award she was also very active within the industry off farm, and was Queensland Dairy Farmers Wide Bay Burnett branch Vice-Chair and the Subtropical Dairy Group Regional Vice-Chair and a member of the Queensland Rural Women’s Network BridgIT Project Management Committee and Australian Women in Agriculture National Conference Organising Committee.

Di’s vision was for a producer targeted dairy specific website that catered to the needs of dairy farmers, providing a complete source of extension and research content, coupled with a regularly changing user interface.

The Internet, Di believed, would markedly enhance the operation of rural businesses, through access to information and products that otherwise may have been non-existent or difficult to obtain and while the number of websites catering to agriculture and to the dairy industry had increased markedly, she believed farmers were left somewhat daunted at the volume of information, with many sites often lacking in regular content updates, consistency of content, ease of usability and poor maintenance. The major objectives of her proposed activity included:

• To complete web program technical skills training.
• To partner the development of a targeted Internet gateway for the dairy industry.
• To develop relationships and networks with industry groups to impart IT skills and knowledge, to help producers conduct their businesses and to help rural organisations’ and communities conduct their affairs.

Di’s technical skills training was done through Spherion Corporate Education and involved 20 days training, attended at the company’s Brisbane office. The training undertaken involved:

• Dreamweaver, Project Management and Photoshop to complement the Internet and design modules. 
• Internet, Web Page Authoring and Networking Fundamentals for networking concepts and practices.
• Site Design Methodology and Technology focused on the website development process and included creation tools and design technologies, plug-ins and multimedia.
• E-commerce Strategies and Practices taught the basics of conducting business online and overcoming the technological issues of constructing a electronic commerce site. 

At the conclusion of 2001 Di, with the support of the northern dairy region’s research organisation, Subtropical Dairy, began conceptual work on a website called dairyinfo.biz. The site was designed as a user friendly interface that incorporated a number of features including news and industry issues, downloadable decision making tools to use within a farming business, an industry events calendar and database and an extensive digital technical information library that was partnered with a powerful search engine capable of drilling for specific information within the entire database. 

Di has also become heavily involved in providing technical and content support to a number of rural community groups. She was Chair of the Queensland Rural Women’s Network Technical Working Party, where she rebuilt the Network’s website. She also sat on the Network’s BridgIT project, an email and Internet training project and is also redeveloping the BridgIT website. She has also provided Internet advice to Australian Women in Agriculture.

At a personal level, the Award provided Di with the opportunity to develop her technical skills, which along side her expertise in content management, has made her a valuable asset in providing a farmer’s perspective and hands on support in the development and maintenance of numerous rural websites nationally.

2001 South Australia Winner - Jeanette Gellard

Harvest Your Potential-Careers in Agriculture

Jeanette is from Kangaroo Island and has been involved in promotion and development of agriculture and natural resource management.  Previous positions held by Jeanette include Board Member of Agriculture Kangaroo Island and Chair of the 2000 SA Women on Farms Gathering Organising Committee. 

Jeanette’s vision was to raise awareness amongst young people of the employment and business opportunities available in the agricultural sector and to raise the profile of agriculture in the wider community.  She believes there is little promotion of the sophistication and technical innovation of agricultural industries, and little appreciation of the variety and depth of career choices available within the agricultural sector.

Her proposed activity involved three stages. The first was a desktop study of the information currently available relating to careers in agriculture, through extensive research and networking with relevant organisations and groups.

The second stage was the design and development of a web page and resource kit that provided comprehensive information relating to job opportunities, including potential employers and education and training pathways.

The final stage involved the distribution and promotion of the resource kit and web page to the target audience.  The result has been the development of a webpage ‘portal’ -www.careersinagriculture.info - which predominantly contains links to external sites that contain an immense diversity and depth of information. 

Over 70 different occupations from eight career streams were identified and researched for inclusion on the web page and linked to external sites that provide comprehensive information covering the job. The career streams ranged from finance and economics, to education and training, to management and marketing, to legal and political, and media and information technology.  The resource kits which included fact sheets, business cards and stickers, were distributed to a variety of target groups including rural and urban schools, tertiary institutions and training organisations, industry groups and associations and government agencies. 

Jeanette’s ambition was to bring attention to not only jobs available in agriculture, but also the ways in which many ‘non traditional’ career paths are intrinsically linked to agriculture and successful rural enterprises.  The project raised awareness amongst the target audience of the diversity of careers agriculture offers, and generated significant support from a range of sources, including educational and training organisations, government agencies and industry groups. 

At a personal and professional level, Jeanette developed new found web page design and internet research skills and developed and extended her industry networks.

2001 Western Australian Winner - Rhonda Tonkin

Developing Value Added Wildflower Products Nationally & Internationally

Rhonda is one of the leading wildflower growers and exporters nationally, with close to three decades experience in the industry.  She is the only person in the Western Australian industry to have vertically integrated her business on a large commercial scale, from production to wholesaling, retailing, value -adding and exporting. Her business produces and markets some 400 species of flora, which she wholesales to every state in Australia and overseas. Her value-added products are exported to Holland, Germany, Italy and USA along with Japan, China and Israel. 

Rhonda’s vision was to enhance the wildflower industry’s sustainable production through better value-adding and growing exports, while at the same time dramatically increasing opportunities for rural women and for regional tourism.  The main objective of her proposed activity was to strengthen the dried flower section of the industry through improved value-adding of the product range. While exports of fresh flowers continue to increase, the dried flower market, which represents 20% of the total industry internationally, has remained static.

Rhonda’s proposed activity involved a major promotional and networking tour of the major value-adding markets, including Italy, Germany, Holland and USA and to report back her findings to industry. Prior to the tour she forwarded samples of value-added products from nine existing companies and a further 30 of her own designs. Products included wildflowers under resin, framed flower pictures, wildflower stationary, cards and perfume, gum nut and flower jewellery and handcrafts and wildflowers books and publications. 

Rhonda met with seven leading importers who had expressed an interest in ‘value-added’ Australian product, including Florient in Italy, which owns and operates a number of small outlets through the country, Schleef in Germany, where meetings with principal Claus Weiman with 30 years experience in flowers and giftware, proved extremely valuable and the American company Universal Sunray, which catalogues and sells throughout the world. 

The most obvious result of her trip was a commitment from Universal Sunray to feature in their catalogue and to sell larger numbers of Australian value-added wildflower products, volumes which will first be reached through Australian sales and then on to America. However the knowledge gained and networks forged from the tour have also been extremely valuable in understanding the demands and constraints of the market. 

Tourist numbers increased through Rhonda’s own farm and the region’s other flower tourist venues, more staff are being trained to extend the range of floral designs and a five year plan to build and market the product has now been drawn up. The other four exporters are following a similar path and value-added product is now recognised as an integral part of the wildflower industry.

Rhonda firmly believes that while the Australian industry is disadvantaged by its distance from markets, it has a unique product in its wildflowers that can be promoted through tourism worldwide.

2001 Tasmania Winner - Frances Bender

Study of Market Conditions, Buyer Behaviour and Demand Factors in the Japanese Market for Fresh and Processed Atlantic Salmon

Frances and her husband Peter own and operate Huon Aquaculture Company Pty Ltd. At the time of the Awardy HAC was the second largest producer of Atlantic salmon in Australia, employing 76 people and generating gross annual sales of $22 million. 

Frances played an integral role in the development of Huon Aquaculture and was Director of Administration, Occupational Health and Safety and Human Resources Manager. Her vision was to see aquaculture, particularly in Tasmania, continue to prosper and expand as a source of sustainable future employment for rural communities. 

Frances’ proposed activity was to study first-hand the markets for salmon product into Japan and to articulate their customer needs, including product, packaging and presentation specifications. An early maturing of the domestic market, combined with HAC’s reliance on the wholesale sector of the market and limited marketing experience, led Frances to investigate exporting.

The fact that Tasmanian exports commanded a premium of up to 30% in the Japanese market, made Japan the obvious first choice in export markets for HAC to pursue a more direct relationship.  The major objective of the study tour was to facilitate Huon Aquaculture Company’s transition into exports, through a better understanding of the Japanese market, and as a result improve the viability of the HAC and employment and training opportunities for its staff.

The study tour included attending the Foodex Trade Show and visitations to a number of potential customers and importers of seafood including Global Eight, Daitio Gyorui and AIC, along with a tour of the Tsukiji fish markets, a Ginzi salmon deli and numerous department stores including the Takashimaya store. 

Frances received such a good reception for her first visit to Japan that HAC has proceeded in developing their own brand-Huon Tasmanian Salmon-specifically for the Japanese market and began exporting product into Japan, with Tassal Japan as a distribution channel. 

At a more personal level, Frances understanding of the Japanese market and its requirements has dramatically increased, knowledge that she has been able to translate to HAC management and staff. That understanding has enabled HAC to devise market entry strategies for their brand, in particular in the export market and into Japan.  Frances saw the study tour as a strategic first step in developing direct relationships with a customer base in Japan and a strategic first step to HAC’s expansion into export, that in turn, would expand the training and employment opportunities HAC can offer within their community.

2001 Northern Territory Winner - Carmel Wagstaff

The Northern Australian Pastoral Industry- A Great Career Opportunity

Carmel, prior to her transfer to Brisbane in 2001, lived and worked on cattle stations in the Barkley Tablelands of Northern Territory for some 27 years.  She is founder and co-ordinator of the nationally accredited Australian Agricultural Company Training Program, one of the country’s largest and most successful competency based, on-station training programs.  The program provides on-station training and assessment to over 60 young men and women each year and has been accredited for significantly improving the staff retention rate at AACo, while dramatically improving the image of the pastoral industry and its employment opportunities. 

Carmel’s vision for agriculture was to lift the image of the rural worker and to promote the professionalism of Australia’s agricultural industries, particularly the Northern Territory beef cattle industry.  She is deeply concerned about the negative image given to Australian agriculture, which she believes has contributed, to what has become, a flood of young people away from a career in rural Australia.  Her proposed activity involved three succinct stages.

Stage One involved Carmel further developing her own leadership, human resource and organisational skills. She successfully completed a Graduate Certificate in Human Resource Management through the Northern Territory University. 

Stage Two involved investigation into the issue of rural employment and retention rates in the Northern Australian pastoral industry, before brainstorming the issue with a group of relevant and informed persons. 19 people representing employers, trainers and recruiters of young people in Northern Australia, convened for a two day workshop in Darwin in July 2000. 

Brainstorming focused on issues extending from current methods the industry uses to attract the services of new staff and reasons people leave their employment, to the personal and professional development of staff, and the issues of lifestyle and geographical isolation.  The workshop culminated in the formation of NARC, the Northern Australian Rural Careers Network, with its aim of providing a network to promote the implementation of professional business strategies, that address the issues of attracting, developing and retaining staff in the extensive pastoral industry.  The workshop also developed media material called ‘The Message’, a document highlighting the positives, including the financial benefits of working in the Northern Australian beef cattle industry. 

Other initiatives included the organization of a study tour for industry middle management. The first tour took place in March 2001 and proved so successful that a second tour was planned.  A second forum was held in September 2001, which focused on reviewing NARC’s progress to date and setting the direction and targets for the 12 months ahead.

Stage Three involved the development of materials to promote the industry as a preferred and professional career choice.

Carmel’s vision saw the beginnings of what a group of committed and like-minded people can achieve. It was intended that NARC continued to evolve into a credible lobby group, that developed sound strategies to address the serious skill shortage currently facing the Northern Australian beef cattle industry.

At a personal level, the Award gave Carmel a platform on which to build her knowledge and skills and in turn further develop her capacity to drive the direction of NARC and to continue to passionately promote the professionalism and unique career opportunities within the pastoral industry.

2000 New South Wales Winner – Diana Gibbs

The Riverina Project-Wool Producers Marketing Wool to the Consumer

Diana Gibbs is a wool producer and cofounder and director of Riverina Wool Growers. RWG was established in 1994 for the purpose of expanding and deepening wool producers activities to include sourcing wool, wool yarns and woollen products to its own design and specifications and directly marketing the final apparel products. 

Diana’s vision was for Australian wool producers to take more responsibility and control of their product by becoming more closely linked to their markets. 

The objectives of her overall project were for a group of wool producers, RWG, to form a commercial operation that would:

• Develop, produce and market a collection of high quality, branded woolen garments. 
• Deliver these garments to a carefully defined market via a multi-channel approach.
• Create significant sales revenue and sufficient profits to provide a consistent commercial return for all partners. 

The project in doing so would also:

• Create a successful joint venture partnership between RWG and representatives of the Wiradjuri people.
• Create a world class wool textile supply chain. 
• Support education and training opportunities for the Wiradjuri people. 

Her proposed activity represented the first critical step in the total project, that being to prepare a Business Plan to define and describe the wool marketing venture. The bursary was used to finance the Business Plan and also contributed to some preliminary promotional material, including media information kits presented at the Olympic Games in September 2000 and information produced for marketing investigations into the UK in October 2000.

The Business Plan was prepared in late 2000/early 2001 and was reviewed by independent consultants to ensure its objectivity and rigor. The Business Plan addressed key components of the project, including business background, vision, products, the market and marketing plan, business operations, ownership and management, risk factors along with financial considerations. A careful investigation of the demographics of the potential market available in the UK was undertaken to define the project’s target consumers and total available market.

The product is a collaborative effort between RWG and the Wiradjuri people, who provided some ideas as to elements of their culture that could be used as design themes, with one of the Elders painting an interpretation of these themes onto fabric, which was then provided to designers in the UK for incorporation into garments. 

RWG is in the process of seeking an agreement to form a joint venture with the Council of Elders representing the Wiradjuri, which will enable indigenous themes to be incorporated in the design of knitwear apparel.

RWG will now put in place a management team with expertise in European and Australian markets, to manage the design, manufacturing, distribution and marketing of high quality women’s apparel.

Diana’s knowledge of the project and its market has grown enormously as a result of this Award, as has her negotiating and marketing skills, along with her contacts and networks within the international wool and fashion industry.

The Business Plan confirmed the merit and real potential of this total project, which once completed has the ability to resolve major wool textile supply chain issues. The supply chain will, not only, be much shorter and therefore more time responsive, but will provide strong market signals from designers and manufacturers direct back to producers. For wool producers, the project will provide for a landmark change in culture, allowing them to take responsibility of their product throughout the supply chain, and allow them to not just sell a commodity, but to market a product.

This project has provided a unique insight into issues facing wool producers and into the potential for commercial joint ventures with indigenous Australians. Many lessons have been learnt, as two groups aim to achieve something that neither could do separately. There are perhaps also some lessons in this project for the reconciliation process.

2000 Victoria Winner – Rowena Doyle

The Development and Implementation of an Accredited Mohair Classing Course

Rowena Doyle owns and operates, in family partnership, the largest mohair enterprise in Victoria and has been at the forefront of developing the industry and its markets, including domestic markets for goat meat and value added craft markets for the skins.

Rowena’s vision for her industry was one where best practice is followed by all producers and where producers retrieve a fair share of the end price of their product. 

The major objectives of her proposed activity were to: 

• Improve mohair producers’ classing standards by developing an accredited mohair-classing course, which involved flexible delivery and practical training with broker participation. 
• Improve her own skills in fibre production and to impart those skills to prospective and existing producers through mohair classing courses.
• Encourage further education in areas of goat production and create an opportunity for greater producer networking. 

The Australian mohair industry has achieved the status of best quality mohair in the world, second to neither Texas or South Africa and has achieved this status in only 30 years of selective breeding. 

In the 1970’s and 1980’s, the majority of mohair was forwarded to brokers unskirted and unclassed, while in the 1980’s and 1990’s the introduction of imported genetics saw an increase in the number of classing lines. While Australian fibre has improved to such an extent that poorer kempy lines are virtually non existent, producer classing techniques have not kept pace, with brokers still receiving unclassed and unskirted fibre. As a result producers are being penalised with increases classing fees and more importantly failing to realise the potential returns for quality. 

The Australian mohair industry desperately needed a change in classing standards and to be adopted uniformly throughout the industry from producers to brokers.

The major task involved the development of a hands on training course for mohair classing based on the National Goat Industry Competencies, with input from numerous sources, including wool industry training packages, Mohair Australia classing standards, mohair broker classing standards, the Pastoral Industry Award, goat husbandry resources along with several RIRDC publications. 

The course notes were finalised following extensive industry evaluation and a training package developed, comprising of three major competencies. 

1. Preparing for Shearing- included crutching animals, the benefits of sorting animals prior to shearing, penning goats safely prior to shearing to prevent smothering and to avoid wet fibre, arranging animal feed for shearing and conditions for employing shearers and shed hands. 
2. Preparing Facilities for Shearing and Crutching- covered sources of contamination, inspecting shed and yards for sources of contamination and safety hazards, inspecting equipment to ensure smooth running operation, ensuring availability of supplies required during shearing time and providing shelter for shorn animals. 
3. Classing Goat Fibre- included the properties of quality mohair, fault line in mohair, selling methods of mohair, Australian mohair classing standards, efficient fibre flow through the shearing shed, skirting and classing mohair fibre and baling and labeling fibre for consignment to brokers. 

Two courses were advertised. The first at Longerenong Agricultural College through the University of Ballarat and the second at Dookie Agricultural College through the University of Melbourne. 28 mohair producers attended the courses with participants required to complete a worksheet on each of the three competencies while carrying out practical activities. The weekends proved an invaluable networking opportunity for producers involved.

Following the initial two courses, interest has now been shown in conducting the courses in both South Australia and Western Australia. The package is currently before the  National Board of Mohair Australia to be adopted for use throughout the industry. One industry accredited training program will be a major breakthrough for the industry in ensuring education in fibre preparation is consistent throughout the country.

At a personal level, Rowena has achieved her ambition of improved knowledge and skills in fibre production and presentation, along with improved networking, public speaking  and marketing skills, that will prove invaluable not only to herself but to her industry for many years to come.

2000 Queensland winner – Annie Pfeffer

Our Future - Promotion of Monounsaturated Sunflower Oil

Annie Pfeffer operates in family partnership a mixed cropping enterprise and established ‘Olisun’, a family business that value adds sunflowers to produce and market pressed monounsaturated sunflower oil. 

Annie’s vision was to improve the prospects for the Australian sunflower industry and its growers, while improving the health of Australians, by encouraging the substitution, in the food retail sector, of imported, cheaper, saturated palm oil with domestic monounsaturated sunflower oil.

While canola and olive oils have been recognised by the general public as healthy oils, resulting in increased supermarket demand and purchases, the message has not been translated to the food service industry where up to 90,000 tonnes of cheaper saturated palm oil are imported each year.

At the same time production of Australian sunflower has fallen dramatically, from 300,000 to 120,000 tonnes over the past decade (prior to 2000), as a result of competition from canola domestically and imported palm oil. 

This situation comes against some stark statistics, where one person dies every 10 minutes in Australia from cardiovascular disease due to high blood cholesterol, with high levels of saturated fats a major contributor. 

Her proposed activity entailed three major objectives:

• To grow the Australian sunflower industry and in particular supply and demand of monounsaturated sunflower oil. (by 50% in first year)
• To improve the health of our nation, by increasing the number of outlets that use monounsaturated sunflower oil. (by 50% in first year)
• Encourage other grower to get further involved within the industry and in the promotion of their product. 

The project involved undertaking a major education and promotional effort at both the industry and the consumer level, thereby galvanising the industry and its growers to increase the awareness amongst consumers. 

Major activities included numerous Award public speaking events, Ag Ed at Toowoomba Show, Farmfest, the National Press Club, Brisbane’s Farmers Markets and numerous presentations to industry leaders and executive of the Queensland Department of Primary Industries. 

A major breakthrough for her project came with the opportunity to present the Australian Sunflower Association’s vision for the future to the Biennial Conference in Yeppoon in June 2001. The Grains Research and Development Corporation, as a result has asked that the ASA to put forward a strategic plan as the basis for a package of research funding for the total industry. The strategic plan is to be presented to GRDC later this year.

The Australian sunflower industry now has a decidedly more positive focus and is regenerating itself.

Its representative body, the Australian Sunflower Association is working proactively in partnership with other Australian oil producer groups, through the Australian Oilseed Federation, to focus on their collective strengths in accessing markets and countering imports.

And at a personal level, Annie acquired new skills in media, marketing and public speaking, along with report writing, and has used those skills to encourage more people to become involved in their industry and the promotion of their product. The groundwork for the first state-wide women in grains reference group was established as a result of Annie’s efforts.

2000 South Australia Winner – Carol Schofield

 Expansion of the Freshwater Crayfish Industry in South Australia

At the Time of the Award, Carol Schofield had been involved in aquaculture and in particular the freshwater crayfish industry in South Australia for 12 years.  She established, during this time, the ‘Fresh Yabbie Company’, which has evolved into a central networking point for producers and a central marketing effort for the South Australian industry. 

Carol’s vision was to see the freshwater crayfish industry, for both yabbie and marron, expand to reach its fullest potential. 

The industry has over the past decade undergone several stages of development and major change which has hampered industry and some growers’ efforts to progress and expand.

Her proposed activity translated into six broad objectives: 

• To increase the production of yabbies and marron to meet the increasing demand in the market place at a state, national and international level.
• To increase employment through diversification and utilisation of existing infrastructure on farms. 
• To design, develop and deliver training programs that can be easily accessed by the rural sector in order to raise awareness, increase knowledge, develop skills and motivate the farming community. 
• To establish a research and development program to examine innovative ways of processing waste from value added yabbie and marron products. 
• To establish industry standards and a quality assurance program for every level of the production/processing chain.
• To research innovative ways of presenting value added yabbie products to meet market demand. 

 

The project took two major directions:

• The development of workshop modules designed to raise awareness amongst the farming community in SA of the potential of freshwater crayfish production in farm dams as an important alternate income source.
• The workshops formed a central part of a strategic industry plan that would see the eventual establishment of a network of freshwater crayfish centres, one in each region, run by a coordinator who will be responsible for delivering workshops and setting up mentoring and support at a local level. 

Presentation of the first two workshops were scheduled for the Clare Valley and the Fleurieu Peninsula in late 2000, with a third workshop also planned for Kangaroo Island in late 2001.

The introductory workshops were to be followed up with one intermediate and two advanced skill level workshops over an 18-month period. 

The second tier was an intensive research effort into waste management, which represents approximately 80% of the total product. Research extended from grinding, dehydrating and pickling the whole and portioned product for both human and animal consumption both domestically and overseas. 

At a personal level, Carol’s knowledge of the industry, its markets and value adding opportunities improved markedly. Highlights included attending the 2001 International Symposium on Astacology in Perth, where she gained valuable data on the latest developments in freshwater crayfish farming, information that will be incorporated into training modules. 

Her project resulted in increased awareness of the freshwater crayfish industry and its potential, the first hurdle to raising supply sufficient to meet demand.

2000 Western Australia Winner – Mary Nenke

A Marketing and Study Tour of the U.S.A. for the Benefit of the Yabby Industry and its Growers in Western Australia.

Mary Nenke is founder and principal of Cambinata Yabbies and is intrinsically involved in all aspects of the Yabby Industry in Western Australia, from production to post harvest handling to marketing and exporting.  

Cambinata Yabbies started off as a small family concern but evolved into a sophisticated and integrated business, marketing yabbies on behalf of a large groups of growers across the WA wheatbelt. 

Mary’s vision was to make rural Australia a great place to live, while offering rural women financial independence through the pursuit of new business ventures and alternate farm enterprises. 

Her proposed activity consisted of two broad objectives, incorporating a major study and fact finding tour of the United States: 

• To improve yabby production in Western Australia through investigation of current technology and best practice and value adding opportunities employed in the US.
• To further expand markets for WA yabbies through promotion and marketing in the US.

The crawfish industry in the United States produces the highest volume of freshwater crayfish in the world. This is in stark contrast to the Australian yabby industry, where very poor production ratios are severely hampering its potential for growth. Their catfish industry has also been very successful in value adding and in vertical integration. The United States is also the world’s major consumer of food and aquaculture and an obvious target market for any increased production. 

The study tour of the United States took place in March 2001. The tour included participating as part of the Western Australian Fisheries Department Industry Promotion at the Annual Boston Seafood Show. The Boston Seafood Show also provided the opportunity to look at the various exhibits and examine how others, including the catfish industry market their product. The tour also included stopovers in San Francisco and New York where Mary met with distributors, clients and potential clients. The tour culminated in New Orleans and Houston where Mary was able to study first hand their crawfish industry from farm to processing factory to markets.

The study tour gave Mary a far greater understanding of the American market and their local product, as a result she is far more component at explaining first hand the advantages and disadvantages of the two products, yabbies and crawfish. 

The trip proved the Australian yabby and its handling to be by far the superior product and should be marketed accordingly. The tour also proved that there is potential for value adding yabbies.

In specific terms Mary brought back new ideas and technology, including larger feed pellets, traps for moving stock and a steamer for value adding product, that were to be trailed for possible transfer to the domestic industry in WA. 

More importantly Mary has developed new contacts and networks that will help not only expand existing markets but forge new ones for Cambinata Yabbies and its extensive network of growers.

2000 Tasmania Winner – Anne Taylor

Farm Safety, Manual Handling and Back Care

Anne Taylor a partner in a mixed farming enterprise, is also a practicing physiotherapist.

Anne’s vision was to create a safe work environment for all who work in agricultural industries.

She was amazed at the lack of knowledge shown by farmers on manual handling and backcare, injury prevention and first aid, and yet when 50% of all workers compensation claims are the result of manual handling incidents, there were no easily accessible and practical farm safety education and training programs available for all members of the farming family and the farm workforce.

The major objective of her proposed activity was to ensure all who work in primary industries access to affordable and best practice training in manual handling, backcare and manutention, farm safety, practical first aid awareness, accident and injury prevention.

The project involved the development of a company called ‘WiseWork’ that would become the vehicle to delivering training to the farming population. Training packages were developed, equipment purchased and manuals, handouts and posters created. 

Marketing was low key and provided predominantly through Award speaking engagements, newspaper articles and word of mouth. 

In order to be fully competent in delivering the training, Anne attended a number of courses, including Manutention Advanced “Industrial Loads’ course, Manual Handling for Carers of People, Train the Trainer, Train Small Groups and Plan, Conduct and Review Assessment, Return to Work on the Farm and Community Development Training. She is currently completing the Certificate IV in Assessment & Workplace Training and achieving accreditation as a Manutention trainer.

Anne delivered numerous training programs since winning the Award, including:

• Five Farm Safety Courses with three presenters and three Farm Safety Courses with two presenters.
• One three day pilot course ‘BackCare and Manual Handling’ for Agricultural Personnel.
• One Injury Prevention Session at Beginners Shearer’s Training Course.
• Several BackCare and Introductory Manual Handling courses to horticultural businesses, timber merchants and the Nursery Association Accreditation Scheme.

She also received a contract with a Poppy Processing Company to deliver farm safety training to their growers, contractors and field staff, statewide, with five courses conducted in 2001. 

At a personal level, Anne developed new skills in creating and implementing a business from planning to actual performance and has become proficient at writing reports and training manuals, public speaking and networking.

Anne’s project raised awareness within the Tasmanian farming community on the issues of farm safety and backcare and manual handling, while extending the training offered from a purely ‘farmer’ base to the nursery, timber, horticultural, poppy seed industries and associated communities.

2012 New South Wales Runner-up – Corinne Annetts

Corinne’s Award ambition is to support rural women in business enterprises and the expansion of the dairy goat industry in New South Wales

Corinne Annett’s is a dairy goat farmer and Principal of Sunhill Skin Essentials, which produces and a range of goat milk based skin care products and moisturisers, she markets to clients both within   Australia and overseas.

Corinne is a teacher by trade, but her family have been farming for the past ten years, initially in Tasmania before moving to the New England in 2004.

Corinne believes the dairy goat industry has a strong future, given the strong demand for goat milk and cheeses, both domestically and overseas. She believes the industry offers new enterprise opportunities to farmers and new value adding opportunities for regional NSW.

Corinne’s Award ambition was to expand her business from cosmetics to goat cheeses and to be become a quality supplier of a comprehensive range of dairy goat products.

She planned to travel to New Zealand to increase her knowledge and understanding of the dairy goat industry, in  particular cheese making, to grow her business, to support and mentor rural women in business enterprise and support the expansion of the dairy goat industry in New South Wales.

2012 Victorian Runner-up – Elise Wenden

Elise’s Award ambition was to demystify the role of soil biology in sustainable farming by providing unique farmer friendly resources to land managers.

At the time of the Award, Elise Wenden ran her own business Fruition Nutrition, where she provides consulting services, educational material, workshops and short courses related to soil health and sustainability.

Since 2009 Elise has engaged, with her partner and his family, in mixed farming, including dryland and irrigated cereal and oilseed crops, and merino sheep for wool and cross-bred sheep for prime lamb production, outside Charlton in northern Victoria.

In addition, Elise teaches sustainable farming and gardening workshops and short courses at neighbourhood centres around her region and works as a facilitator for community gardens in each Wimmera.

As a young woman working in regional Victoria, Elise is passionate about sustainable agriculture and about supporting the next generation of farmers, both men and women in rural communities.
Her Award ambition is to further develop her knowledge and expertise of biological farming as a source of re-invigoration for rural communities. She believes biological farming offers answers to some of farming’s big problems including rising financial and environmental costs and ever depreciating margins.
Her ambition is to partner with renowned Australian mycologist (soil fungi expert) Dr Mary Cole, to expand her knowledge and experience of soil microbiology. The knowledge will be captured in a farm friendly handbook on soil health and biological farming, so encouraging farmers to adapt their management practices towards biological systems.

Elise planned to travel to rural communities throughout Australia, promoting the role of biological farming. She hopes to inspire rural women and re invigorate enthusiasm for farming and regional communities into the next generation. 

2012 Queensland Runner-up – Michelle Deshong

Michelle’s Award ambition was to develop a model for community engagement for indigenous and rural women.

Michelle Deshong is facilitator and mediator with 20 years experience working in indigenous affairs and more recently in rural women’s leadership development. 

Michelle is a strong advocate for human rights and women’s rights and has just returned from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York.

She has contributed to the development of rural women’s leadership, as Chairperson of the local Midtha Goothilans Indigenous Women’s Group and as a facilitator to the National Rural Women’s Coalition and the Queensland Rural Women’s Network in recent years. Michelle is also a graduate of the Australian Rural Leadership Program.

Michelle’s Award ambition was to develop a model for cross cultural dialogue and community engagement between indigenous and rural women, to support and build engagement in rural and regional areas.

She planned to travel to the United States, to meet with networks including the First Nations Institute and the Udall Foundation, to examine effective international working models for indigenous and rural engagement.

On return Michelle planned to host a two day symposium, bringing together stakeholders from across rural and indigenous communities, to share best practice examples and discuss and develop engagement models on how to bring indigenous and rural women together and help develop sustainable approaches to rural and regional engagement.

2012 South Australian Runner-up – Krysteen McElroy

Krysteen’s Award ambition was to support Australian farmers to be climate ready by scoping out new high value irrigated crops to support their future productivity and sustainability.

Krysteen McElroy and her husband, Bradley, are progressive and climate change ready farmers. They have worked on the family’s mixed farming enterprise at Pathway in South Australia’s south-east since the mid 1980's.

The McElroy’s climate change strategy is to be the most efficient they can, by focusing on sustainability, producing a quality product and through continuous improvement, involving the adoption of new technologies and innovative marketing strategies.

Krysteen’s commitment to agriculture extends beyond the farm. She is Executive Officer for the Mackellar Farm Management Group, a regionally based producer network committed to innovative and sustainable farm management practices, and is one of 34 farmers involved in the Climate Champions program, committed to advancing climate change knowledge and supporting farmers in the wise use of resources.

She is also a graduate of the South Australian Rural Leadership Program.

Krysteen’s Award ambition was to support Australian farmers to be climate ready, by researching new high value and water efficient crops that will increase productivity and sustainability. She planned to meet with leading Australian and international irrigators and document their innovations and experiences, with the end product a simple practical guide on new cropping options and opportunities available to farmers.

2012 Western Australian Runner-up – Lucinda Giblett

Lucinda’s Award ambition was to create a not-for-profit organisation, to be called Stellar Violets, to honour and share the wisdom of her rural women fore-mothers, to celebrate sustainable food and to help dissolve the urban-rural divide.

Lucinda Giblett is a third generation pome and stone fruit grower from Manjimup in the state’s south-west  Lucinda travelled the world extensively before returning home to lead the family farm, the Newton Brothers Orchards, recruitment and marketing programs and to establish a small organic orchard to compliment the farms more traditional operations. 

Lucinda is passionate about sustainable food and rural communities and committed to dissolving the urban - rural divide and the disconnect from the land.

As a community connector, she is actively involved in her local community, as an organiser of the Manjimup Cherry Harmony Festival, a volunteer for the Southern Forests Regional Food Council and a volunteer committee member for Slow Food Southern Forests, which runs a monthly food education stall at the Manjimup Farmers’ Markets.

Lucinda sees Stellar Violet’s as a vehicle to promote sustainable food production, to  demonstrate sustainable land stewardship and encourage healthier environments and diverse cultural landscapes.

Stellar Violets would connect learners of all ages with passionate teachers, through workshops, courses and events, and with online resources, on simple sustainable ways to live, growing and making your own food and consuming only what you need.

2012 Tasmanian Runner-up – Gina Butler

Gina's Award ambition was to investigate the goat dairy industry and farm house cheese production in the United Kingdom, France and Italy, to grow the dairy goat industry as a new emerging industry in Tasmania.

Gina Butler is a leader in the Tasmanian goat cheese industry and the Principal of Yondover Goat Farmhouse Cheeses, having established the 380 head goat diary, cheese factory and farm gate cheese shop outside Tunnel in Tasmania’s north east in 2004.

Yondover Farmhouse Cheeses was recently recognised with a number of medals from the Melbourne Royal Show and the Hobart Fine Food Awards.

Gina also holds a senior leadership position within the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services.

With demand for goat milk in Tasmania outstripping supply and demand for goat cheese continuing to grow, Gina believes goat dairying is a viable alternative for other smaller farms within Tasmania and a viable new industry to redefine and reinvigorate the north east of Tasmania.

Gina’s Award ambition was to travel to the United Kingdom, France and Italy, to broaden her knowledge of the production of farmhouse cheeses and identify avenues for growth of the Tasmanian goat dairy industry. 

2012 Northern Territory Runner-up – Dr Samantha McMahon

Samantha’s Award ambition was to improve animal husbandry programs and services for remote indigenous communities throughout the Northern Territory.

Dr Samantha McMahon is an international leader in the field of veterinary practices in remote indigenous communities. She has operated veterinary practices in Katherine Nhulunbuy, Tennant Creek and Howard Springs since 1995. 

Samantha established Aboriginal Community Veterinary Services, a service dedicated to providing veterinary programs and education and consulting services to remote and indigenous communities through the Territory and Asia Pacific regions.

Samantha is actively involved in the leadership of her broader industry, as Executive Member and past President of the NT branch of the Australian Veterinary Association for over ten years, as Member and incoming President of the Australian Association of Cattle Veterinarians and as founding member of the Australian Veterinary Reserve, dedicated to participating in emergency animal disease outbreaks, both within Australia and internationally.

Samantha’s Award ambition is to undertake a study tour to specific communities within North America and Canada, who face similar issues of indigenous people, remote and harsh locations and inadequate animal management.

Samantha believes that in order to achieve better outcomes for the Territory she needs to gain some outside experience to improve the practices and services she provides.

She believes that one of the keys to achieving excellent animal welfare is to provide animal management and veterinary programs that are sustainable. She believes that the long term sustainability of these programs will not be based on government funding, but rather on making these programs valued and valuable to indigenous communities.

2011 New South Wales Runner-up – Sally Martin

Knowledge broker

At the time of the Award, Sally Martin from Young, New South Wales, had been the Sheep and Wool Officer with Industry and Investment NSW for the previous 12 years. 

She grew up on a grazing property on the Monaro where she continued to be involved in the family farm operation.

Sally provided advice and support to individual sheep producers, grower groups and trial sites on genetics, animal health, reproduction and general production issues. She played an integral role in the Peter Westblade Memorial Merino Challenge, the largest evaluation of commercial merino genetics in the world, which included some of Australia’s largest commercial woolgrowers.

She was concerned at the declining sheep population—the result of a significant change in the flock structure.  She believed the shift away from wool to a meat focus and from the Merino sheep ias fed by misconceptions that Merino sheep are not capable of competing against other breeds for traits such as fertility and meat quality, despite research and commercial trails demonstrating the contrary.

Her ambition was to ensure that existing genetic information is made more accessible and relevant to businesses to ensure a more profitable and resilient sheep industry.

2011 Victorian Runner-up – Jennifer Savage

Fish farming pioneer

Jennifer Savage from St. Germains, Victoria, is a pioneer of fish farming in Australia. In 2004 she established the first aquaculture business specialising in barramundi production, Savage Fish Pty Ltd in central north Victoria.

Jennifer is well qualified with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Fisheries and a Graduate Diploma, Graduate Certificate and Masters in Aquaculture. She worked at the Department of Primary Industries – Snobs Creek, as a research technician working across a variety of native fish species for a number of years before setting up her own business.

Savage Fish aimed to provide premium quality barramundi and murray cod, to be an Australian leader in the breeding and rearing of native finfish, and to supply environmentally sustainable fish to meet the growing demand for clean fresh food.

Jennifer has authored numerous papers and delivered many lectures on fish farming, and has supported a number of new aquaculture ventures, both within Australia and overseas, including a model to support a network of dairy farmers diversifying into aquaculture.  She is personally committed to supporting the re-establishment of the Victorian Aquaculture Council as an effective and united voice for industry to government.

Jennifer believes that fish farming offers a lucrative second income stream for farmers and a real solution to the increasing shortage of supply of wild catch.

She planned to set up a training program for aquaculture specific to Australian native species to be delivered in regional Victoria.

Jennifer believes the Australian industry needs an effective brand to compete against imports and to counter negative perceptions of farmed fish, and hopes to work with the beef and lamb industry to learn from their highly successful media campaigns.

2011 Queensland Runner-up – Erin Corish

Lamb industry innovator

At the time of the Award, Erin Corish from Goondiwindi, Queensland, was General Manager of a 15,000 head prime lamb feedlot outside Goondiwindi and co-owner of a rural publication called ‘Border Living Magazine’.

She was heavily involved in her local industry and community and was a member of Young Farmers Forum, Women’s Industry Network – Cotton and Border Women in Business.

Erin is committed to the lamb industry and to finding solutions to the shortage of supply of prime lambs through better genetics and improved management practices that will help build and retain breeding numbers.

Her ambition was to investigate intensive breeding programs in an effort to increase production and minimise over-grazing. She planned to travel to South Africa to investigate the ‘Afrino’ sheep breed –  a breed of meat Merino – and to test the breed’s performance against Australian conditions by introducing it into her own prime lamb herd.

Erin launched a social media site for her rural community as an extension of the Boarder Living Magazine to keep her community connected and to promote to the broader audience the diversity of rural businesses and the positive benefits of rural life.

2011 South Australian Runner-up – Rebecca Williams

Rural development consultant

At the time of the Award, Rebecca Williams, from Koolunga, South Australia, was the Administration Officer with the Future Farmers Network which was the only national network for young people involved in the rural sector.

Rebecca and her family run a mixed farming operation comprised of broad acre cropping, breeding ewes, prime lamb and alpacas. She also worked as a rural development consultant and was a member of the Clare Valley Young Professionals and the Hilltown Ag Girls Group.

She worked as a rural development consultant and developed a business plan that would provide a support network to the rural sector, allowing rural businesses to access a range of support services, such as education and training, financial support and strategic planning.

Rebecca is passionate about living in a rural community and equally passionate about her career. She believes the single greatest barrier to career progression for rural people is not being exposed to the many employment opportunities that are available in the capital cities and regional centres. 

Her ambition was to develop a ‘Satellite Careers Advancement Program’ to assist other rural women living in regional areas to advance their own careers through personal and professional development and by promoting the concept of satellite employees. She believed that were many positions within primary industries that could be filled remotely and that employers were becoming more comfortable with the concept of employees working outside the conventional workplace.

2011 Western Australian Runner-up – Cathy Howard

Small wine producer advocate

At the time of the Award, Cathy Howard from Busselton, Western Australia, had been actively involved in the wine industry for the previous 15 years as a winemaker and wine industry consultant.

For the previous ten years she lived and worked in the Margaret River region where she and her husband launched their own wine brand ‘Whicher Ridge’ in 2008 and opened their winery in 2009. They have full control over the production of all five Whicher Ridge wines.

Cathy is President of the Geographe Vignerons Association and was accepted into the 2010 Women in Wine Industry Leadership Program – ‘The Right Bunch’.

Cathy has been a member of the Margaret River Wine Industry Association Technical Committee, and before that the Chair of the Barossa Winemakers Technical Committee and participated in the Margaret River Wine Industry Leadership Program in 2008.

She believes that a vibrant and sustainable wine industry requires both small and large wine producers and growers. Small wine producers make up to 70 per cent of the total number of wine producers in Western Australia. But given the competitive environment and the prohibitive cost to small producers of marketing and promoting their product, she believes the industry risks losing its smaller producers and with it much of its innovation and diversity.

Her Award ambition was to support Western Australia’s small wine producers and to promote and market their product through the development of a small producers’ website, the organisation of regional based small producers events and an annual small wine producers’ Cellar Door Day in Perth.

Her aim was to increase the awareness amongst consumers, trade and media of Western Australia’s small wine producers, to ensure increased and sustainable wine sales for network members, and to provide a platform for the network members to have a stronger voice in wine industry matters.

2011 Tasmanian Runner-up – Jan Hughes

Agritourism promoter

Jan Hughes and her husband established a successful regional enterprise ‘Rhu Bru’ which utilises rhubarb farm waste product and converts it into a refreshing non-alcoholic drink. Jan Hughes is based in Scottsdale, which has the largest rhubarb farm in the southern hemisphere.

Jan has spent the majority of her life working in rural and isolated communities in Tasmania and Tanzania, before returning to Scottsdale, Tasmania, and becoming involved in regional agritourism.

Rhu Bru took out the Reserve Champion and Gold Medal Award at the Hobart Fine Food Fair. Rhubarb has become central to an increasing product range including jam, relish, syrups and vinegar.

Jan’s ambition was to encourage farmers to diversify into agribusiness ventures that would give tourists a real experience of where food comes from and boost tourism spend and employment opportunities in the region. She felt a recognised food trail would provide an important marketable focus for the region.

Her ambition was to travel to other parts of Australia, to learn from the experiences of other successful agritourism regions and to investigate the drivers and barriers to agritourism development.

Jan believed her region could capitalise on the Rhu Bru model and explore other ways of value adding other vegetable production waste products in the region. She saw the Award playing a critical role in assisting her to bring individuals and groups together to actively work towards the development of successful agritourism ventures in the region.

2010 New South Wales Runner-up – Alison McIntosh

Beef industry innovator

At the time of the Award, Alison McIntosh was Principal of AJM Livestock Solutions, a business that offers beef cattle producers a number of specialised services including electronic data capture for improved herd management and compliance to the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS).

Alison’s Award ambition was to further her leadership contribution to the beef industry through further education and networking and to support the uptake by beef cattle producers of new technology for improved herd management, through the production of an industry training package.

While Alison did not receive a Bursary, awarded only to winners, she continued to pursue her leadership ambitions and in 2011 was accepted into the Australian Rural Leadership Program (Course 18). Alison’s contribution to the beef industry was acknowledged with her selection as the winner of the NAB Agribusiness and Cattle Council of Australia ‘Rising Champion’ Award.

The Award required Alison to speak and attend several events. She was dinner speaker at the Youth Ag Central Forum hosted by the Future Farmers Network.

Alison was appointed a Director on the Board of the Australian Beef Industry Foundation.

2010 Victorian Runner-up – Claire Penniceard

Rural sustainability campaigner

At the time of the Award, Claire Penniceard had been farming for the previous two decades and was the owner and sole Director of The Pig Pen Pty Ltd, a significant pig production business that grows out pigs in north-east Victoria on contract to service specialist export markets.

The Pig Pen’s environmental credentials have received a number of Awards, including the Pork Industry Environmental Stewardship Award and the only farming enterprise ever to become a national finalist in the Banksia Awards.

The challenges of getting approval from her shire council to set up an intensive enterprise on her own broad acre farm is what motivated Claire’s Award ambition. Claire believed that shires across Australia were having to come to terms with significant change in land use, both for urbanisation and more intensive agricultural purposes, and the unplanned nature of this land use was causing significant social and environmental conflict over amenity and resources.

Claire’s answer to the conflict was the Precinct Strategy, a planned land use change, which allows for the strategic co-location of enterprises including intensive agriculture, industrial and conservation entities and would allow for the efficient provision and servicing of the infrastructure required for them. Leading up to the Award she spent the previous six years working on the Precinct Strategy and had created and led an industry reference group to support the planning process. The zoning process had been completed and a planning panel approved the process.

Claire believed the Precinct strategy had the potential to change how we utilise our land for sustainable agricultural production nationally against the challenges of food security. She was committed to speaking with various national bodies and agencies about her experiences and knowledge and the benefits of the Precinct Strategy.

2010 Queensland Runner-up – Jane Milburn

Farmer advocate

Jane Milburn is an agricultural scientist, freelance writer and media consultant.

Jane’s Award ambition was to cultivate a fresh brand for Australian agriculture, through credible and positive stories about sustainable food production, delivered through a consumer focused web platform.

While Jane did not receive a Bursary, awarded only to winners, she continued to pursue her Award ambition, actively communicating the importance of Australian agriculture and sustainable food production and farming practices. Jane was successful in launching a trial web platform.

Jane, during her Award tenure was invited to speak and attend a number of events, including the Rural Women’s Symposium and the Westpac ‘Learn, Lead and Succeed, Queensland forum.

She has continued to promote Australian agriculture and fresh healthy produce,  and worked in the health side of food after being appointed the Communications Manager for Diabetes Australia -Queensland. She was appointed Honorary Secretary of International House Board of Management and was a Mentor to the Australian Future Grain Leaders Program.

2010 South Australian Runner-up – Stacey Fallon

Regional food champion

At the time of the Award, Stacey Fallon held the position of Food Development Officer with the Eyre Peninsula Regional Development Board, working with a diverse range of primary industries, including seafood, grain, meat and wine. Stacey also helped her husband run their 7,000-acre cropping and livestock property in Lock on the Eyre Peninsula.

Her professional position involved improving the region’s primary industries business capabilities, through efforts such as facilitating the entry of food companies into new markets, providing feedback to growers to stimulate new product and process development, and supporting market driven value chains, to increase the region’s food sectors sustainability.

A key focus of Stacey’s role had been the establishment and ongoing management of Brand Eyre Peninsula ‘Australia’s Seafood Frontier’, a marketing initiative designed to cement the Eyre Peninsula’s position as one of Australia’s top food producing regions.

Stacey’s vision was to see Eyre Peninsula become a market leader, by working collaboratively in sharing resources, by employing more innovative marketing and education programs and by increasing customer knowledge and appreciation for the region’s produce.

Her Award ambition was to travel to the world’s largest food market organisation; the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute to learn from their marketing programs. ASMI is a world leader in marketing and had successfully implemented a number of innovative initiatives, such as consumer point-of-sale items and retail sale aids, targeted food service staff training and education programs including an interactive web based training program. The study would provide Stacey with the knowledge and know-how to execute new marketing initiatives in the Eyre Peninsula and to develop the Eyre Peninsula Retail and Food Service Seafood User Guide.

2010 Western Australian Runner-up – Erin Gorter

Encouraging women and youth back into agricultural industries

Erin Gorter is a broad acre farmer from Kojonup in south west Western Australia. At the time of the Award she was President of the Evergreen Farming Grower Group and Chair of WA Q Lamb.

Erin’s Award ambition was to further develop her leadership skills, to support her leadership advancement and to encourage women and youth back into agricultural industries.

While Erin did not receive a bursary, awarded only to winners, she continued to pursue her Award ambition and took up a number of additional leadership positions, including being appointed to the WA Meat Industry Authority Board, appointed Executive Officer of Southern DIRT (Dollars Information Research Technology) and Executive Officer of Evergreen Farming. Erin also completed the GrowZone Leadership Program, a six month mentoring program for rural business leaders.

Erin, through the Award, was invited to speak at a number of events, including the 2010 Farming Ahead Conference, the Lambex Conference and the Grower Group Alli­ance Forum.

2010 Tasmanian Runner-up – Catriona Macleod

Aquaculture educator

At the time of the Award, Dr Catriona Macleod was the Research Group Leader for Ecosystems Effects of Aquaculture at the Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute.

Catriona’s Award ambition was to improve the understanding of aquaculture’s effects on the environment and to improve the industry’s ability to mitigate and manage its environmental footprint.

While Catriona did not receive a Bursary, awarded only to winners, she continued to pursue her leadership development and her contribution to her industry. She was elected Deputy Chair of the IMAS Reserch Committee, responsible for developing the research agenda within the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies within UTas and elected to the IMAS Education Committee.

Catriona was invited to speak at a number of significant industry events, including the Australiasian Aquaculture Conference and the International Council for Exploration of the Seas Annual Science Meeting in Nantes, France.

2009 New South Wales Runner-up - Gillian Hogendyk

Gillian is a Veterinarian, however, her commitment to primary industries and its sustainability is principally through her voluntary work. She has represented the Macquarie Valley on the National Parks and Wildlife Community Advisory Committee, having served on that committee for 11 years.

Through the Committee Gillian developed a strong interest in the Macquarie Marshes and in how the irrigation community can be involved in conserving the marshes. She along with 30 other local landholders helped form a unit trust to purchase a small property in the Marshes called ‘Burrima’ and to manage it for conservation outcomes. Burrima is regularly visited by school, university, research and NRM groups for educational purposes. 

Gillian is deeply concerned over the national water issue and the current arrangements of buying water as the sole means of achieving environmental outcomes. Her group, the Macquarie Marshes Environmental Trust, purchased a small property in the Macquarie Marshes, removed cattle from it and set about actively revegetating it. The response was spectacular, with reed beds regenerating rapidly, native plants choking out invasive weeds, and increasing biodiversity. The work has shown what environmental gains can be achieved through improved land and water management. Gillian would like to see a larger proportion of the funds currently earmarked for water purchase being used to fund on ground projects like the one she helps to manage. In this way she believes rural communities can be sustained and can be part of the water solution. 

Gillian’s Award ambition was to tour a number of wetlands in the Murray Darling Basin, focusing on those that are managed for conservation by non-government or community organisations, exploring the costs, benefits, problems and solutions they have encountered with a view to applying her learnings to the Marshes and more widely in the Basin.

2009 Victoria Runner-up - Kate Wilson

At the time of the Award, Kate Wilson had been a broadacre agronomist for the previous fifteen years and at the forefront of advising growers on sustainable agricultural practices. She was also a partner with her husband in a 5,000 hectare broad-acre cropping operation.

Kate’s key roles as a consultant included developing farm plans based on profitability and sustainability, providing clients with advice on crop rotation and variety selection, assisting with fertilizer and nutrition decisions, along with in-crop nutrition and herbicide advice, disease and pest identification and gross margin analysis. She was also an active member of the Birchip Cropping Group’s Advisory Committee, having undertaken consultancy work and delivered group training workshops to the group. 

Her vision was for growers to consistently achieve their potential yields through better understanding the interaction between soil, water and the crops they grow, so that broadacre farming becomes more profitable, viable and sustainable. 

Kate’s Award ambition was to undertake a study tour of the United States and Canada to gain a greater understanding of soil biology. She was particularly interested in the work of Dr Dwayne Beck at the Dakota Lakes Research Farm. Her new learnings and ideas would be disseminated back to her client base, to the Birchip Cropping Group and to the regions’ farmers.

2009 Queensland Runner-up - Wendy Agar

Wendy Agar and her family own and operate Myendetta Station, a 18,000 hectare property thirty kilometres south west of Charleville. Myendetta Station is a sheep and cattle property and a rural tourism venture and has been in Richard Agar’s family since 1890. At the time of the Award, Wendy was an active participant in a number of rural organizations including Agforce, the Future Farmers Network and the Queensland Rural Women’s Network. She was also a delegate to the Queensland Government’s Rural Women’s Symposium in Roma. 

Wendy is passionate about learning and education and about promoting and marketing the bush. She underwent a steep learning curve in the seven years leading up to the Award, including undertaking training in holistic management, business management and personal development to build her business skills and decision making. She also completed a number of short tourism courses, and in 2003 in response to drought, Myendetta Station through the Outback Queensland Tourism Association commenced a tourism operation. 

Wendy’s Award ambition was to develop a series of educational webinars and teleconferences for other women on the land who had experienced the harsh realities of drought and fluctuating commodity prices.

The webinars would not only provide valuable information and discussion with informed speakers,  but also provide a network for women coping with drought and with isolation to share their experiences and to support each other.

2009 South Australia Runner-up - Ulli Spranz

Ulli Spranz is a pioneer in biological and organic farming in South Australia and she with her husband Helmet are the Principals of B-d Farm Paris Creek and Paris Creek Cheese Pty Ltd. which include a biodynamic dairy farming property, a milk processing plant and cheese manufacturing. At the time of the Award they had 38 employees, processed 2.9 million litres of milk a year and in 2008 sold in excess of $5 million of product.

She was one of the founding members of the Biodynamic and Organic Agricultural Bureau, a farmer organization established to network and exchange experiences, and was Chair of Biodynamic Agriculture Australia Ltd, recognized as the most successful biodynamic organization worldwide. 

Ulli’s passion was to educate others in biodynamic and organic farming principles. Her Award ambition was to continue to grow the work she did in educating others in biodynamic farming, through conducting courses and workshops to promote biodynamic and organic farming principles and making the workshops available to not only farmers but a variety of interested people at low cost and in various geographic locations.

She planned to travel overseas to Europe to exchange information with rural women groups and to discuss environmental issues that hold worldwide significance.

2009 Western Australia Runner-up - Doris Parker

Doris Parker, along with her husband and family, manage Peedamulla Station in the Pilbara. The station was bought for Doris’ community back in 1975, when at its peak it ran 15,000 sheep and 1,500 cattle. But drought, lack of money and the fall in wool prices brought trouble to the community; Trevor and Doris took over the running of the station in 1981 and began the huge task of repaying the community’s outstanding debts, building up the cattle herd and restoring the station back to a viable concern. At the time of the Award, Doris worked as a Customer Service Officer for the Department of Child Protection at Onslow, fostering children and providing a safe rural haven for many out on Peedamulla Station.

Her life story is one of how an Aboriginal woman can have a significant impact on the sustainability of the Pilbara pastoral industry, by combining her cultural heritage and wisdom, organizational ability and maternal instinct, to become a role model for future generations of Aboriginal pastoralists. 

Doris’ vision was to free the next generation from their dependence on the welfare system and on alcohol and drugs, and to instill in them her passion for the land and the stock, and to encourage in them the skills to run a top performing cattle station. 

Her Award ambition was to write a book documenting her life story, so exposing the next generation to the wisdom of their elders and by doing so provide leadership and encouragement, to steer for them a path of higher expectations. She was also seeking training in leadership to assist her with engaging the youth in culture and to voice the wisdom of Aboriginal women in steering the younger women to believe in themselves and in their future.

2009 Tasmania Runner-Up  - Jane Huntington

Jane and her husband are the principals in the family farm business The Two Metre Tall Company. The business is based at their property ‘Charlemont’ in the Derwent Valley in southern Tasmania. 

Jane and her husband came to farming via the wine industry and they have successfully transferred their understanding and expertise in the winery to a grain growing and brewery business. They value add their grains by making naturally fermented and hand-made real ale on farm. Diversification into real ales significantly drought proofed their farm and made their business much more robust than had they been relying on commodity markets for sale of grain alone. 

She had a vision for beer manufacturing that uses much larger percentages of Australian grown and processed malt as well as a greater selection of grain varieties for an increased flavour spectrum. 

Jane’s Award ambition was to travel to England to research their well established malt barley industry. She wanted to study relationships as they already exist between contracted grain growers and the specialist floor malting companies. She also wanted to tap into their experience on the relationship between grain variety and beer quality. 

Jane’s believed the study tour, in bringing back new knowledge from the established malt barley industry, would not only be extremely valuable to the expansion of her business but to the future development of this niche industry nationally.

2009 Northern Territory Runner-up - Moira Lanzarin

Moira comes from modern pioneering stock and at the time of the Award was a Director of family-run Coodardie Brahmans. They operate two cattle properties, Coodardie and Numul Numul Station in the Mataranka region of the Northern Territory. They run approximately 3000 head of Brahman cattle and Moira co-directs the business, selling and promoting Coodardie stud cattle across the north.

Moira is an active member of Australian Women in Agriculture andwas a keynote speaker at the 2000 National Conference in Darwin. She has also represented Northern Australia on the Deputy Prime Minister’s Inaugural Regional Women’s Advisory Council, and she has represented the Territory at the World Congress of Young Farmers in Paris in 2003 and was appointed to the first Federal Council of Young Farmers in 2006. 

Moira believes that rural Australia is facing increasingly difficult times that will require new skills and greater adaptability to handle change. She believes holistic management  is a decision making framework that provides real tools to help individuals make better decisions which will simultaneously lead to a more environmentally, economically and socially sustainable land, business and community. 

Moira’s Award ambition was to become a Certified Educator in Holistic Management for northern Australia. Her ambition was to be accepted into the Holistic Management International’s Certified Educator Program, to undertake training, to travel to the International Holistic Management Institute in Albuquerque in the US to meet with HM practitioners, and to return with greater knowledge and exposure and to share her learning’s through her local Learning Community with northern Australia.

2008 New South Wales Runner-up - Louisa Kiely

Louisa Kiely is a superfine wool grower from Goolma. She is passionate about climate change issues and ensuring that farmers are included in the carbon trading debate. 

Louisa believes that farmers have a critical and practical role to play in responding to global warming while continuing to generate valuable income by exchanging soil carbon credits to underwrite farm income which could offset emissions from methane and other greenhouse gases. 

She co-founded the Carbon Coalition against Global Warming in 2006, to lobby government for the right of Australian landholders to trade the credits they earn by sequestering carbon in their soils on the emissions offset market. 

Her project involved the establishment of SoilCentral.com, the world’s first website devoted to raising the profile of the benefits of increasing carbon in agricultural soils world wide, in an effort to restore family farms and save the planet.

2008 Victoria Runner-up - Lucy Mayes

Lucy Mayes is trained as a lawyer and social worker and works in economic development to support primary producers in her shire of Mount Alexander in seeking to grow their markets and supply-chain connectivity.

Lucy is active in her community and was heavily involved in The Food Project, which was aimed at education, advocacy and awareness in consumers of the origins of their food.

Lucy’s main passion is the development of young people to their maximum creative potential. Through her work she has seen first-hand the significant issue of rural communities losing their young people.

Her project was to explore existing rural youth development acitivies with a view to creating an Australia-wide rural youth leadership and mentoring program.

2008 Queensland Runner-up - Georgie Somerset

Georgie Somerset is a beef producer from Kingaroy. She was founding member of the Queensland Rural Women’s Network, was responsible for the agricultural portfolio on the National Council of Women in Queensland and Australia and sat on the National Rural Advisory Council. 

At the time of the Award, Georgie had committed the previous two decades to ‘selling the bush’ to the urban population. She believes there is a new tide of interest and awareness of the importance of agriculture and the bush among urban consumers, who are actively seeking links with rural businesses and events. 

Her ambition was to create Bushlinks, a web portal that would not only provide accurate information on Australian agriculture, but linked urban Australia with events and businesses in rural and regional Australia.

2008 South Australia Runner-up - Yvonne Smith

At the time of the Award, Yvonne Smith had been involved in the horticultural industry in South Australia as a grower and industry advocate for the previous 20 years. 

She was the first woman Chair of Onions Australia, sat on the Industry Advisory Committee to Horticulture Australia and was actively involved in the SA Soil Conservation Council. 

Her project involved a study tour of the onion growing regions in the San Joaquin Valley of California so she could examine the practicalities, barriers and benefits of drip irrigation, with the prospect of introducing drip irrigation into large scale broad acre production of onions in her regions and state.

She believed the outcomes of her project would be the assurance of the most efficient water-use for her industry and would also contribute to the certainty of water-flow for communities along the Murray River.

2008 Western Australia Runner-up - Audrey Bird

At the time of the Award, Audrey Bird was a farmer from the wheatbelt of Western Australia, a director of the family farm business and a leader within her industry as demonstrated through her role as President of the Facey Group. 

Her vision ‘Growing Grower Groups’ was to utilise the existing grower group framework, such as the Facey Group, to identify how to value add to the membership of the group, by developing new products and services to better meet their needs. 

Her project involved interstate travel to learn from other grower groups and groups outside agriculture, the opportunities, products and services they are offering their members.

2008 Tasmania Runner-up - Amabel Fulton

At the time of the Award, Amabel Fulton was Chief Executive of Rural Development Services and boasted some 20 years experience in sustainable agriculture and rural capacity building. She also sat on the Federal Government’s Regional Women’s Advisory Council. 

Her company had been operating for eight years and provided services aimed at enhancing the capacity of rural people and organisations, including research and development, rural social research, business and people development both within Tasmania and nationally. 

Amabel’s ambition was to develop a successful business-case for the formation of a national network of women training brokers. The network would provide local family farm businesses with opportunities to access training, support and assistance, while offering funding providers with a mechanism and a group of trainers to channel their products and services directly to their target audience. A pilot roll out of the model was being sponsored by Horticulture Australia.

2007 New South Wales Runner-up - Fiona Kliendeinst

At the time of the Award, Fiona Kliendeinst was an ultra-fine wool producer  who with her husband operated an OFDA testing business from outside Uralla in northern New South Wales. 

 

She holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Economics from the University of New England and holds corporate experience at Solutions Marketing and Research Group, the Biological Wool Harvesting Company and ABRI Breed plan. 

Her frustration with the lack of availability of wool garments and woolen materials saw Fiona become involved in the Australian Wool Fashion Awards and involved in work with the Sheep CRC and CSIRO in trialling wools for quality performance. 

She started up a small business for made to measure woollen garments made from 100 percent Australian wool and produced by local rural women who produce the wool. 

Her vision was to grow the business, to expand into larger premises and to employ more rural women. She planned within five years to have a fully operational studio with five full time seamstresses and two cutting and finishing staff and a showroom open to the public, full of beautiful wool and wool blend materials and garments. 

Her long term vision was to have a fully vertically integrated operation, complete with scouring and processing mill, dying spinning, weaving and finishing facilities, and a full time staff of over 150 women designing, sewing and promoting Australian wool to the world. 

Fiona planned to travel to Italy to attend the Fashion and Apparel Show in Milan, where all the international mills showcase their runs, and to visit wool processing mills and fashion houses, to make contacts and learn from them the industry beyond the farm gate and the needs and demands of the international market. 

She believed the knowledge and experience gained would be invaluable in turning her cottage industry into a successful business venture for the region’s producers and a significant employer of the region’s rural women.

2007 Victoria Runner-up - Vera Fleming

At the time of the Award, Vera Fleming and her husband owned and operated a mixed fruit orchard in the Goulburn Valley of Victoria. Vera is a leader in her own right, representing her industry and rural women across of number of platforms tackling issues such salinity, water conservation and pest management. 

She has held a number of key positions including past President of the Goulburn Valley Women in Agriculture and former Member of the DPIE Pear Industry Steering Committee and Goulburn Valley Water. At the time of the Award, she was Chair of the Shepparton Fruit Growers Association. 

Her ambition was to demonstrate a profitable farm business, complimented with a diversity of value added products, such as fruit juices and wines, condiments and confectionary. 

Her project titled ‘The Spirit of the Valley’ involved visiting similar farm businesses within Victoria and interstate and learning from their value adding and niche marketing initiatives. She hoped to identify new innovative marketing, packaging and branding tools and to extend her network of manufacturers and suppliers so that she could develop a tool kit of innovative ideas and networks to disseminate to other women and regions. 

Vera hoped that through her project local women and in particular culturally and linguistically diverse women (CALD) would be encouraged to look beyond pure production to value adding opportunities and be encouraged to develop new business ventures for themselves. She hoped to develop her leadership and mentoring capacity to enable her to better support women within her community.

2007 Queensland Runner-up - Linda Jaques

Linda Jaques and her husband Nat are Australia’s coffee industry pioneers, having established the first ever coffee plantation in the Cairns Highlands in 1979. 

The Jaques family were responsible for developing much of the industry’s technology including Australia’s first coffee harvester and have been fundamental to the survival and success of the Australian coffee industry. 

At the time of the Award, the coffee roasting, distribution and wholesaling industry in Australia was worth around $10 billion a year and growing fast. The Jaques family owned and operated Jaques Australian Coffee at Mareeba, a successful award winning coffee and agritourism venture, which produced over 31 tonnes a coffee a year. 

Linda’s goal was to produce Australia’s first naturally produced caffeine free coffee, as a healthy and environmentally friendly alternative to decaffeinated coffee. Three naturally grown caffeine free, high quality Arabica plants were discovered in Ethiopia by Brazilian scientists. 

Her proposed activity was to travel to the University of Campinas at Sao Paulo in Brazil to meet with the scientists responsible for the discovery, to work with them to source tissue culture and to gain some insight into the cultivation of the plants. She plans to cultivate and grow out the cultures, to then plant out the trees, a process she estimated would take five years before the trees can be harvested and available to the broader industry. 

Linda also proposed to establish a bursary out of the proceeds generated from caffeine free coffee, to benefit rural women in Ethiopia. She believed her project offered enormous potential in providing a healthy and environmentally friendly caffeine free coffee and as a new rural industry for Australia.

2007 South Australia Runner-up - Natasha Mooney

At the time of the Award, Natasha Mooney had been heavily involved in the South Australian wine industry for the previous 15 years. During that time she saw the fortunes of the industry and its people shift markedly as they were forced to cope with severe water shortages, oversupply of grapes and softer export markets. 

Natasha’s vision was to help turn around the fortunes of growers and the industry by developing a new grape beverage and in effect new markets for grapes. Her concept was a natural sparkling grape juice to be produced from excess red wines grapes - grapes that are currently left on the vine to rot. 

The product would be essentially a grape juice based on any selection of red wine grapes, subjected to only partial fermentation and resulting in a sparkling and sweet grape juice with significantly reduced alcohol content. 

Natasha’s proposed activity involved taking the product from early testing and trialling to commercial reality. Her activity involved further product trialling and development, combined with research into branding, packaging and marketing, both domestically and internationally. 

While her product had some way to go before it became a commercial reality, she believed  that if successful, the beverage would provide growers with a new market avenue for their grapes, so helping reduce the current glut and helping to stabilize returns to growers.

2007 Western Australia Runner-up - Pia Boschetti

At the time of the Award, Pia Boschetti was part of a professional fishing family involved in a number of fisheries, including the northern prawn fishery, the western rock lobster and the demersal long line fishing industries. But her passion and profession for the previous seven years had been pearl farming. 

Pia farmed pearls at the Abrolhos Islands off Geraldton, believed to be the most southern point in the world to commercially culture black pearls. At the time of the Award, her farm was one of the major producers of Australian black pearls in Western Australia. 

The major pearling industry in Australia, based in the Broome region, is the maxima industry or the larger white pearls, with all other pearls, including the black pearl, the Japanese Akoya oyster pearl and the wing shell referred to as the non-maxima industry. 

While Pia’s farm was dedicated to the production of black pearls, they successfully trialled the production of high quality and larger than average size Akoya pearls. 

With the Japanese produced Akoya pearl in serious decline due to pollution and disease, the implications for the Australian pearl industry were potentially huge, with anecdotal feedback from the export markets very encouraging. 

Pia’s ambition was to produce Akoya pearls of a high grade that had not been seen in the Japanese markets for several years. Her proposed activity was to explore further the techniques for Akoya production in Japan and to investigate further the opportunities for both Akoya and black pearls into the Japanese and European markets.

2007 Tasmania Runner-up - Gail Menegon

At the time of the Award, Gail was a livestock producer, and in partnership with her husband they bred Murray Grey cattle, White Suffolk sheep and Standard bred horses in northern Tasmania.

The Murray Grey cattle stud had been operating for the previous ten years and while they had bred and raced standard bred horses as a hobby for the previous 20 years, 2007 was the first year Gail and husband Lyndon  bred yearlings for sale for the inaugural Magic Millions Standard bred sale on 1 March. 

 

Gail was also actively involved in her industry, having served as Secretary and Treasurer of the Tasmanian Murray Grey Breed Promotion Group for the previous six years. She also served on the Beef Cattle Committee of the Royal Launceston Show and was a member of the Tasmanian White Suffolk Promotion Group. 

Gail’s vision was to raise awareness and the level of information on the nutrition, education and presentation of yearling Standard bred horses for sale. Her proposal was borne out of a desire to gain skills and valuable information on nutrition and presentation of yearlings for sale and the harness racing industry in general. She planned to undertake study tours of established and successful breeding studs in New Zealand, New South Wales and Victoria, to attend forums on the nutrition and education of horses and to meet with experts in the field. 

She hoped to share the information and skills acquired with other harness racing participants, and also hoped that her achievements would empower other women to create new opportunities and in turn strengthen primary industries.

2007 Northern Territory Runner-up - Tina MacFarlane

Tina MacFarlane has been involved in the pastoral industry in the Northern Territory for most of her professional life, from a jillaroo mustering cattle and mending fences to being and equal partner in a stud and commercial Brahman beef cattle operation outside Mataranka. 

Tina and her husband, in the space of 25 years,  converted 150 square kilometres of scrub country into a highly developed property, boasting numerous watering points, improved pastures and a network of paddocks to accommodate their herd of 1000 head. 

Their holistic approach to managing the property, involving a higher rotation of cattle through smaller paddocks delivered a number of benefits, including improved soil structure, reduced weed pressures, less reliance of herbicides and pesticides, and an increased conception and calving rate. 

Tina’s quest to improve the carcass traits and eating quality of their cattle led her to the relatively new technology of ultrasound scanning. The technology allows for accurate and objective recording of carcass quality traits such as eye muscle area, subcutaneous fat cover and intra muscular fat or marbling. 

The data is able to be collected and recorded through Breedplan, the national beef cattle genetic evaluation system, thereby aiding buyers in their selection of cattle for meat quality and carcass traits and assisting in targeting specific market requirements. 

However with no accredited scanners available in the Territory, Tina’s proposed activity was to become an accredited scanner for the benefit of her own operation and to be able to assist other producers become accredited to Breedplan and to produce cattle better suited to their markets.

2006 New South Wales Runner-Up - Mary Howard

Mary has been intrinsically involved in the commercial fishing industry since the mid 1970’s. At the time of the Award, Mary and her husband Graham jointly owned and operated two commercial prawn trawlers. She was an associate member of the Hawkesbury Trawl Association and a member of the Women’s Industry Network Seafood Community. She was also the Chairperson of the Wisemen’s Ferry Aged and Community Care Association. 

Mary is committed to the environmental sustainability of the fishery within the Hawkesbury-Nepean River and recognizes the importance of the catchment’s environmental sustainability to the industry’s viability. 

In 2001 the Seafood Industry Council asked Mary to represent Hawkesbury and Shoalhaven River fishermen on the Hawkesbury-Nepean River Management Forum, whose terms of reference included a review of the environmental flow requirements of the river system. She submitted and presented papers to a number of forums including a paper focusing on making environment and social impact assessment count at the Coast to Coast conference and a paper titled ‘Canary in the Estuary’ to the Asia Pacific Conference. Mary was also appointed Director of the Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment Management Authority. 

Mary planned to produce and distribute tools that would make it easier for the women of the Hawkesbury trawl to promote their industry, within their community and to Government agencies. The tools were to include a brochure and a DVD detailing the fishery and its environmental track record along with a publication showcasing licensed fishers and their social, economic and environmental links to the river. The material would link in with material already available, including the Ocean Watch information trailer, in raising the profile and positive image of fishers and their sensitivity to their environment.

2006 New South Wales Runner-up - Catherine Ford

At the time of the Award, Catherine Ford was an organic farmer with 110 acres of macadamia nut and coffee trees on the North Coast of NSW. Originally from Sydney, Catherine left the city for a 'sea change', having no experience in rural industry. 

Nine years after their move in 1997 Catherine and her husband were running a successful enterprise which continued to go from strength to strength. Catherine's Award project included providing a guide for fellow broad acre macadamia nut and coffee farmers to move from conventional farming to more sustainable practices. 

With the bursary she hoped to develop a website and deliver workshops to female farmers as a way of showcasing successful commercial organic farming methods.

2006 Victoria Runner-up - Catherine Bell

At the time of the Award, Catherine had been intrinsically involved in the fishing industry for the previous 30 years, working in numerous capacities as a deckhand, boat builder, accounts clerk, process worker, export manager, logistics and human resources manager. In 1985 her business grew from a husband and wife outfit to a medium sized operation, specializing in carp products for both the domestic and export market. The business employed 18 staff in 2006. 

Catherine’s commitment to the sustainable future of the fishing industry and to the role of rural women is evident in the numerous positions she has held, including Board Member of WINSC (Women’s Industry Network Seafood Community), Consolidated Fishermen Pty Ltd, Fisheries Co-Management Council and Seafood Industry Victoria. Her involvement with the Fisheries Co-Management Council is on the subcommittees for Water and WIPARB (Women in Primary Industry Advisory Board) 

Catherine believes the fishing industry has become a leader in adopting and implementing food safety regulations and to support and assist her industry Catherine undertook an Associate Food Safety Auditor accreditation. 

Her proposed activity involved further food safety study and practical experience to achieve full accreditation as a food safety auditory, so allowing her to move beyond the seafood industry to other agricultural sectors. 

She believed through further accreditation she would become a role model for other women in the food industry, supporting them in gaining the skills and confidence to play a larger role in their businesses and in turn improving the reputation of their industries by raising the safety and quality standards.

2006 Queensland Runner-up - Ann Radke

At the time of the Award, Ann Radke and her husband Peter owned and operated Yuruga Nursery, a native plant nursery and one of the largest private employers on the Atherton Tablelands. The nursery was awarded the Nursery and Garden Industry of Queensland ‘Grower of the Year’ in 2002 and the Australian Institute of Management’s Rural & Remote Manager of the Year Award in 2005. 

Integral to the nurseries success and expansion has been the establishment of the subsidiary company Clonal Solutions Australia, specializing in the mass production of high value clonal crops for agriculture and forestry plantations. 

Yuruga Nursery has been a proactive member of the local community and the broader industry, conducting regular field days and actively partnering with RIRDC and the Queensland Department of Primary Industries to establish new cut foliage and bush tucker industries for the region

Ann’s vision for her industry is to see plant breeding and clonal technology provide the mechanism by which rural industries can maximize returns from limited arable land, while reducing pressure on Australia’s remaining native forests.

With Australia’s commitment to become self-sufficient in both hardwood and softwood timber production by 2020, she firmly believes that clonal forestry holds the key to a sustainable forestry industry. However while clonal forestry is now common practice in softwood pine plantations in Australia, its application to eucalypts hardwood plantations had been met with far less success.

Ann planned to undertake a study tour of South America to visit leading clonal forestry nurseries in Brazil, Chile and Uraguay, recognised as the world leaders in clonal propagation of forestry crops. 

She believes the importance of clonal forestry to the sustainable growth of the forestry industry in Australia cannot be overestimated and she was committed to sharing her new learnings with industry through publications and field days.

2006 South Australia Runner-up - Roxanne Prime

At the time of the Award, Roxanne had lived and worked as a partner in a rural enterprise for the previous 24 years. 

She has served her local rural community as President of the Wharminda branch of the Country Women’s Association, on numerous school, church and charitable organizations and on the Western Board of Country Arts S.A. 

Roxanne is deeply concerned about the impact the failure to attract new and younger people is having on rural communities and the primary industries that support them. She believes that diminishing social prospects creates one of the biggest challenges for encouraging younger people into rural communities and country S.A. 

Her proposed activity was an exhibition of paintings and multimedia works that profile rural women, validating their historical and contemporary contribution to agriculture and rural communities, so portraying a holistic image of rural communities to the broader audience.

Through her exhibition, to be titled “Feminising the Bush” she planned to encourage and incorporate other artists’ works in a traveling exhibition that would tour throughout South Australia.

2006 Western Australia Runner-up - Diana Holly

At the time of the Award, Diana Holly was co-principal of the Hidden Treasures of the Great Southern project. The project’s objective is to encourage economic growth and sustainability through rural tourism within the seven shires involved and their communities within the northern half of the Great Southern region. 

Di’s story is one of successful diversification on their own family farm, from traditional sheep and grain production into aquaculture and specifically barramundi production, which was no small feat given their farm is situated in the south of the state and barramundi are a tropical water fish. 

Di believes that rural diversification will become increasingly critical to the future viability of not only farming enterprises, but the broader rural community. 

She points to research that shows that rural tourism will be the next boom industry for farming communities. In 2002 visitor numbers to the great Southern Region totalled around 400,000 with an average stay of three days, translating into $105 million spending within the region.

Di’s vision was to ensure that small rural communities also reap the benefits of tourism, by better utilizing the agriculture and resources available to them, by encouraging diversification into rural tourism and by forging rural community partnerships. 

She was Chairperson of the Hidden Treasures Working Group. The group was successful in securing sufficient funding to begin implementing their five year rural tourism marketing plan, and they launched a major promotional brochure highlighting rural tourism points of interest along with trial drive maps that link the rural towns and communities together.

She was keen to attend the 2006 Tourism Australia Regional Tourism Convention to be held at Norfolk Island late in 2006, so she could gather the latest information on rural tourism along with new skills and valuable new contacts.

2006 Tasmania Runner-up - Cheryl McCartie

At the time of the Award, Cheryl was a partner in a dairy farming business, operating a milking herd of 600 cows on two properties at ‘Ringarooma.’ She and her husband Theo were finalists in the 2004 Agribusiness category of the Launceston Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards and received the Share Farmers Encouragement Award in 1999.

Cheryl was heavily involved in her local rural community and sat on a number of organizations including being the rural community representative on the University of Tasmania’s Academic Rural Health Advisory Group and member of the Dorset Women’s Retreat organizing Group. She also sat on the Executive Committee of Tasmanian Women in Agriculture and is the Chairperson of the 7th Women on Farms Gathering, which was expected to attract up to 250 rural women from Tasmania and interstate. 

She is strongly committed to sustainable farming systems and her personal vision is to ensure agriculture remains an attractive vibrant industry that embraces innovations that enhance its sustainability and the management of its natural resources. 

Her proposed activity involved investigating once-a-day milking systems as a strategy to improve farm productivity, sustainability, profitability and lifestyle. She believes once-a-day milking has a lot to offer industry in the current economic climate of increasing input costs and static farm gate prices, tighter environmental management requirements, and a skilled labour shortage and could prove to be more profitable and sustainable than twice daily milking.

There was substantial research underway and farmers trialing once-a-day milking in New Zealand. Cheryl planned to travel to New Zealand, visit farms and meet with a number of farmers willing to impart their knowledge and experience. 

She believed that by researching and then applying once-a-day milking to their own business, she would be able to demonstrate positive outcomes that she could share with other dairy farms and the industry generally in Tasmania and nationally.

2006 Northern Territory Runner-up - Pippa Clarke

At the time of the Award, Pippa Clarke had five years experience in the Northern Territory pastoral industry.

She worked as Rangelands Officer and Stud Registrar at Newcastle Waters Station, where she was responsible for environmental planning and the development of strategic projects, such as reducing the impact of weed encroachment into riparian areas, as well as the recording and reporting of performance and fertility data for the Brahman stud.

She has also worked as a Technical Rangelands Officer to the Department of Primary Industries & Fisheries, where she was involved in grazing management projects focusing on the impact of natural phenomena, including fire and drought on stock and the rangelands.

Pippa opened her own agribusiness consultancy ‘Northern Pastoral Operations’ specializing in natural resource management planning for pastoral businesses and National Livestock Identification support and training for the cattle industry. 

She has been an active member of the Barkly Landcare and Conservation Association, fostering support for projects involved in the preservation of the tablelands environment.

Pippa’s personal vision is vibrant successful rural communities within regional Australia and in particular the Northern Territory. She firmly believes the long term success of rural businesses is through strong economic management closely affiliated with environmental and social responsibility. 

Pippa’s proposed activity involved further study into business and change management and further investigation of the successes of businesses in other industries. She planned to undertake the Macquarie Graduate School of Management’s Leading Change Program and travel to Alice Springs and East Gippsland to study the Environmental Management Systems adopted by their regional beef groups.

She planned to use her knowledge and skills gained to help pastoral and rural businesses improve their financial stability and success. She also planned to develop a pilot workshop, specifically designed for rural women within the pastoral industry, to engage them in discussion and new learning’s into property and catchment management planning, leadership and change management.

2005 New South Wales Runner-up - Kate Woodward

A more innovative and quality-focused dairy industry

Kate is the creator and owner/operator of Hunter Belle Cheese, a boutique cheese company based at Muswellbrook in the Hunter Valley, which produces unique, high quality, hand made cheese from milk of Brown Swiss cows. 

Her vision for the dairy industry is for it to become more innovative and focused on quality, value adding and niche markets. Her goal is to strengthen the dairy industry through growth of Hunter Belle Cheese, by identifying and producing new products and expanding current markets. 

Kate says that participating in the Award helped her assess where Hunter Belle Cheese was positioned within the dairy industry and how she could improve her individual and business contribution to her local community and industry. 

Kate says her involvement in the Award has also assisted with awareness of Hunter Belle Cheese products which resulted in growth and expanded volume into the Sydney and Queensland markets throughout 2005 and 2006. 

The Award Bursary allowed Kate to undertake a study tour of specialist cheese factories in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. The tour proved invaluable in exposing Kate to new techniques and cheeses, to establishing new networks and connections and in giving her the confidence to expand her own product range.  

As a direct result of participating in the Award Kate became involved in a number of rural organizations and government advisory bodies in NSW. She was appointed a member of the NSW Dairy Industry Conference, which advises the NSW Minister for Primary Industries on the general policies of NSW Food Authority and other aspects of policies that affect the dairy industry. She was also appointed to the Board of Ag Start, a NSW government scheme to promote and facilitate career paths for young people in agriculture. In addition she has recently been appointed to the Board of the NSW Assistance Authority. 

She has also proved herself to be a worthy role model for rural youth and has recently created an opportunity through a school-based traineeship for one of her junior employees.

2005 Victoria Runner-Up - Elaine Paton

Step Out and Make a Difference: Basic Leadership and Management Training for Rural Women

Elaine has a strong commitment to rural women, having been a founding member of Australian Women in Agriculture, and having served terms on the Victorian RWN Reference Group along with three Women’s Advisory Boards to the Victorian Departments of Justice, Natural Resources and Management and Victorian Communities. 

Her vision is to see rural women stepping out and making a difference, “Getting Business Done Better and Right” by raising their basic business, management and leadership skills. 

Elaine used the Award bursary to undertake the Alpine Valleys Community Leadership Program (AVCLP), a 12 month course of structured activities, providing for extensive skills development and networking opportunities with a diverse group of leaders from her region. Topics covered by the program included regional development, the environment, local government, arts and culture, youth, media and public speaking. 

Elaine developed the “Stepping Out and Make a Difference” manual, to compliment the three day course, that was launched on World Rural Women’s Day, 15th October 2006. The program included a comprehensive list of topics from networking, self confidence and self care, personal skills audit, public speaking and working with the media, political lobbying and the machinery of government and NGO’s, communication and conflict resolution, working in community or a family business and managing the business and organization. 

The program Elaine proposed was made available to Community Education Centres and Neighbourhood Houses, delivered as a week-by-week or residential course, by professionals or by community tutors. 

Elaine hoped the program would provide a format for educating and training women to be confident, well informed and capable partners and leaders, in their family businesses, their industries and communities, and in effect providing for women to become role models and trainers in businesses and community groups.

2005 Queensland Runner-up - Delphine Bentley

Corporate Social Responsibility in the International Beef Market

At the time of the Award, Delphine was General Manager of Corporate Development with The North Australian Pastoral Company (NAPCO)

Her vision for the Queensland and the Australian beef industry was an industry which is sustainable and viable, through beef producers being more responsive to consumer attitudes and demand, with improved public perception resulting in greater demand for product and in turn the further adoption of sustainable practices by producers. 

Delphine believes there is a growing interest both domestically and abroad with how meat is produced and how farmers and retailers meet the key principles of Corporate and Social responsibility (CSR includes obligations to social welfare, economic development and environmental management).

Her project involved a study tour to the United Kingdom to determine how domestic and export markets are influenced by consumers preferences for beef produced following the principles of CSR. The Award Bursary contributed in part to her travel and accommodation expenses.

Delphine was overwhelmed by the level of general discussion relating to CSR in red meat industries, both in the UK and in Australia, with producers and retailers alike sensitive to the importance of projecting images of happy and healthy customers, animals and environments. 

All producers she met with, while driven by market specifications and commodity prices, recognize the strong link between sound operational practices and reducing production risks and costs. Those producers are employing the principles of CSR, either deliberately or through external drivers and are recognizing the benefits of these principles. 

She believes that while it is highly unlikely that consumers will pay premiums for ethically produced meat, they will increasingly expect the principles of CSR to be employed and upheld by producers. 

The major outcomes from Delphine’s study tour included her promotion to the position of NAPCO General Manager Corporate Development, the opportunity to present on a number of occasions and significantly as part of a Panel discussion on Corporate Responsibility as part of the 7th National Business Leaders Forum on Sustainable Development in Brisbane in May 2006 and to the Corporate Sustainability Executive Training Program at the University of Queensland Business School. Delphine has recently been awarded the Queensland DPI&F Scholarship for the Australian Institute of Company Directors New Directors Program. She has also recently accepted the position of Future farmers Network Coordinator/Acting Secretary.

2005 South Australia Runner-up - Lyn Dohle

Sustaining Rural Women

At the time of the Award, Lyn was a Senior Land Management Consultant with Rural Solutions SA and with her partner, owned and operated a sheep and cropping operation on Kangaroo Island.  

She is committed to the empowerment of rural women and believes that rural women need to have the support and the skills to determine life’s priorities and to reach a balance between the many facets of their lives. 

Lyn’s proposed activity involved the establishment of a Kangaroo Island rural women’s group, to provide support to the group members to develop their own skills and projects. The Look@Wool concept was selected, the program allows participants to focus on the issues most relevant to making their own farming businesses more profitable and productive, as it provided the tools to enable women to learn in a group environment whilst giving them the skills and encouragement to develop their own projects. 

The group called www or ‘Women Working Well’ was established, comprising of ten women and meeting monthly. Individual projects chosen by the women included life balance, succession planning, financial management and communication and relationships. In addition to specific projects, the group also participated in several combined learning activities including rural office management and healthy living. 

The group proved extremely successful in improving the lives and skills of its members, with a number commenting that the course had been one of the most significant learning events of their lives.

On a personal level, Lyn was in the process of undertaking two new training courses on personal growth and development, courses she believed she would develop new skills and new networks from. She also believed the Award increased both her self confidence and her own awareness of the vital role women play in all levels of rural development.

2005 Western Australia Runner-Up - Deborah Oberon

Certified Organic Skin Care

AT the time of the Award, Deborah Oberon was Managing Director of Elemental Skin Care, one of only two certified organic skin care businesses in Australia. 

Deborah began the business in 1995 in response to a growing concern over the toxicity of ingredients commonly used in the majority of skin care products, selling at hugely inflated retail prices. 

Deborah lives in Denmark in Western Australia, a ‘sea-change/tree-change’ town, comprising a population of middle class and educated people, but with limited viable employment options and a growing number of farms that are turning to organic farming methods. 

Her vision was to create a range of skin care products that are entirely natural and certified organic, based on ingredients sourced, where possible, from locally grown organic produce, and market these products at a price more reflective of the cost of producing them. In doing so she hoped to educate women as to the potential detrimental effects of products currently on the market, while creating real and interesting employment opportunities for local women and through her business new opportunities for organic farms in the region to expand and value add crops. 

Deborah achieved certification by the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA) for her full range of Elemental Skin Care products, the first cosmetic business in Australia to do so, and was in the process of establishing markets internationally and domestically for her products. 

Deborah used her bursary to help finance the establishment of a website for the business, which helped in marketing her products domestically and internationally. 

The Award helped raised her profile and that of her business within her region, helped her establish valuable support networks with individuals and organizations, and led to numerous media opportunities that resulted in increased sales.  In the two year period from 2004 to 2006 Elemental Skin Care tripled its turnover and employed seven people.

2005 Tasmanian Runner-Up - Laura Richardson

Encouraging young people back into the rural sector

At the time of the Award Laura was immediate past President of Rural Youth Tasmania, one of the country’s most vibrant and active rural youth organizations. She was also elected to the Board of the national rural organization, Future Farmers Network. 

Her vision was to break down the stigma attached to agriculture and to encourage young people back into the rural sector, using the rural youth organization as the vehicle to effect the change. 

Her proposed activity involved travel to the United Kingdom and the United States to explore strategies employed by other rural youth based organizations to attract and retain young people in agriculture. 

While Laura was unable to complete her full activity she was able to travel to the United. She was able to meet and network with executive members of the National Federation of Young Farmer Clubs and exchange much relevant information. Information was also being collated and shared between exchanges from Australia, Canada and Wales.

She believes that volunteer organizations all confront issues involving membership retention, funding, and promotional requirements, and while there is not one solution, the sharing of experience and applications will be of benefit to all. 

Laura compiled a detailed report to Rural Youth Tasmania, that was shared and would have have implications for other Australian Rural Youth and like-minded organizations.

2005 Northern Territory Runner-up - Sarah Fea

Manage from the Ground Up

At the time of the Award, Sarah operated her own agricultural management consultancy based in Katherine.

Her vision was to find better management practices to combat major production issues such as disease, weed and insect pests and agriculture’s increasing reliance on fertilizers, through biological farming practices. 

Her objectives were to firstly obtain further practical knowledge and understanding of biological farming management systems, through attending a number of workshops and conferences. Secondly to gain the technical knowledge and accreditation required to analyse soil, without the support of southern based laboratories. And thirdly to utilize this acquired knowledge to assist community and industry development. 

 

Sarah in 2004 became an accredited Soil Food Web Advisor. In early 2005 Sarah attended a Compost and Compost Tea Making Course conducted by Elaine Ingham and a Light Microscope Course run by the Soil Food Web Institute laboratory in Lismore in NSW. She also attended in early 2005 the Compost Conference held in Brisbane and attended by international speakers from USA and Germany, who highlighted issues relevant to Australian agricultural production systems. In late 2005 Sarah also attended the ‘Benefits of Healthy Soil Systems Symposium’ in Bryon Bay in NSW. The symposium exposed her to a number of different tea brewing systems in action, to different techniques and choice of ‘foods’ and their biological results. 

At a personal level, attending these various activities gave Sarah greater confidence in her ability to assist producers, who are keen to follow the principles of biological farming and to explore potential local based product development initiatives. 

Sarah also worked with a cross section of different commodities to establish base line data on the ‘soil health’ under their current production systems. From this base line data, suitable management plans and a monitoring system on future impacts can be developed. She also worked with a number of producer groups aiming to develop holistic grazing management plants and weed management plans, utilizing soil biology monitoring as an indicator of their impact on biodiversity. 

Sarah was involved in a school-based project, developing a fact sheet on soil health and assisting in an interactive workshop with them at the Katherine Research Station. The workshop proved very rewarding to students in highlighting how food can be produced while working with nature. 

She believes the major and ongoing impact of the project will continue to be her ability to impart her skills and knowledge to individuals and to rural organizations she is involved with.

2004 New South Wales Runner-up - Lorroi Pagett

Promoting Dorpers as the Ultimate Meat Sheep Breed

At the time of the Award, Lorroi was a veterinarian and embryo transfer specialist by trade and one of the country’s most successful Dorper breeders. 

Her vision is to see Australian agricultural industries embrace the Dorper breed as a profitable and sustainable meat sheep alternative.

Lorroi focused her attention on promoting the breed and educating agriculture on its benefits.  She attended a number of agricultural field days and shows, including the National Field Days at Orange where she lectured for three days and the Nyngan Ag Expo where her educational displays won the Country Energy Award for Most Educational Exhibit. 

On a personal level, the Award was valuable in developing Lorroi’s confidence, leadership and public speaking skills, with the opportunity to participate and speak at a number of conferences including the Western Division Young Farmers Conference held in Broken Hill in September 2004, along with numerous media interviews. 

Lorroi’s on farm production sale in 2004 and National Dorper Sale saw averages close to triple that of the previous year. She and her husband also sold Dorpers into Brazil and America, with enquiry extending to India, Pakistan and other Asian countries. Her next project is to set up an Export Embryo Centre on farm.

2004 Victorian Runner-Up - Beverley Fisher

Riverview Juices Unlimited

Beverley Fisher is a third generation citrus grower from outside Cobram in northern Victoria and the brains behind “Riverview Juices”.

She instigated “Riverview Juices” in an effort to value add domestic citrus into fresh juices and gain a competitive advantage over cheap Brazilian imported juice.  The company was successfully selling juice into the local region and at Farmers markets, and was also selling oranges into local supermarkets.

Her vision was to grow the company ‘Riverview Juices Unlimited’ into a new range of value adding opportunities, including essential oils and alcoholic drinks, marmalades and dried fruits and to expand the number of growers supporting the venture. 

Beverley used the bursary to attend and speak at a number of conferences and to promote her products at a number of expos.  She regarded the invitation to speak at the Australian Citrus Growers Annual Conferences in Mildura as a major milestone in her career; as recognition of her achievements and commitment by her peers in her industry. 

She also gained valuable knowledge, skills and experience in exhibiting and in business management, as a result of attending the Successful Exhibiting at Expos Workshop at Bendigo. As a direct result of that workshop she was offered the opportunity to participate in the Melbourne Fine Food Show, where she was able to promote her product to a much wider and more sophisticated Melbourne audience.

2004 Queensland Runner-Up - Dee Dunham

The Farmstead Experience

At the time of the Award, Dee Dunham was Principal of Coolabine Goat Cheese Farmstead, one of only two farmstead’s producing goat milk cheese in Queensland.  Dee has taken out a number of prestigious awards, in recognition of the quality of her cheese, including the Maker of the Best Cheese at the 2003 Sydney Royal Easter Show. In addition she was awarded grand Champion Nubian Goat Breeder at the Brisbane Royal Show for five consecutive years and Grand Champion Cheese at the 2002 Brisbane Royal Show.  She is passionate about her goats and her cheese and in instilling in the general community an appreciation of rural and regional produce and the people its supports. 

Dee put her bursary towards the upgrade of cheese making equipment, including the pasteuriser and towards the promotion of the “Farmstead Experience’ workshop.  The “Farmstead Experience’ workshop is a one day workshop open to the general community and designed to impart skills and knowledge in the art of cheese making and an awareness of the importance of Australian rural industries and rural people. 

The equipment upgrade increased cheese production by up to 50 percent, while the workshops held the first and third Sunday of every month during production, attracted hundreds of people. 

Coolabine Goat Cheese Farmstead was part of the slow food movement and Dee’s biggest achievement for the year was to host the ‘Slow Food Spring Fair’ a celebration of rural lifestyle and slow cooked seasonal and regional produce. The inaugural event was a resounding success, attracting well over 1000 people, many from the city out for the day to experience the pleasures of rural Queensland.

2004 South Australia Runner-Up - Laura Fell

A Study into the Poultry Industries in the United Arab Emirates

Laura Fell is a contract chicken meat producer and has been actively involved in the South Australian chicken meat industry since the early 1990’s.  Laura, as a result of two trade delegations, became involved in furthering trade relations between Australia and Iraq, and in fostering new opportunities for Australian agricultural research and extension services and expertise. 

Laura planned to put the Bursary towards further travel to Iraq but this had to be abandoned due to the rapidly deteriorating security situation in that country. Instead she put the bursary towards a study tour of the poultry industries of the United Arab Emirates to learn from their table egg and chicken meat (broiler) industries, and their management of production, animal welfare, biosecurity and climate conditions, in an effort to encourage the greater adoption of Australian technologies and expertise. 

She visited two of the country’s major poultry companies, the Al Jazira Poultry farm and the Emirates Modern Poultry farm, where she met with senior management personnel and was briefed extensively on their operations.  She subsequently visited the UAE on two further occasions in 2004, studying in more detail a number of table egg laying facilities, breeder and broiler farmers, hatcheries and egg grading facilities and processing and packing plants. 

Laura gained unique insights into the UAE industries and how business is conducted in the region, along with access to high level contacts. These were insights and contacts that she believes facilitated improved relations between the two countries and led to the update of Australian technology and expertise.

2004 Western Australia Runner-up - Wendy Newman

Best Practice in Diversification and Value Adding

Wendy Newman was, amongst her numerous positions, Chair of the Wheatbelt Development Commission and Honorary Chair of the Heartlands Country Branding Group, a community driven group established to support producers involved in diversification and value adding. Wendy has long been concerned that the current emphasis in traditional broad acre farming, on production efficiencies, as a result of weather dependence and world trade, is putting enormous pressure on farmers, and forcing them to get big or get out. 

The ramifications she believes include, farm buyouts and a subsequent reduction in the number of farming families, economic imperatives overriding environmental and social ones, strong dependence on one industry translating to increased vulnerability to adverse weather and trade conditions and a culture of exporting rather than value adding leading to reduced industry development and job creation opportunities. 

Wendy believes that industries and individuals developing alternate approaches to agriculture that address the issues of community and environmental sustainability, as well as diversification of their economic base, need profiling and supporting.  Wendy used the bursary to examine world’s best practice in supporting diversified farming practices, regional branding and warehousing and distribution models in a rural context, along with the role rural women play in these activities.  Her project involved travel to regional areas, including Handorf and the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia, and Wangaratta in Victoria, to view first hand successful regional branding and marketing processes along with attending the 2004 Australian Women in Agriculture National Conference. She visited six successful rural enterprises in total, including the Alexandria Cheese Company, Trout Farm, and Alpaca farm, Milawa Mustards, Bakery and Olive Shop.

Wendy identified the key critical success factors in diversifying and value adding all these businesses were passion, research and planning, common sense pragmatic approach to business, relationships, stringent supply chain and quality assurance control and strong market focus.  While the study tour did not resolve in any major way the issues confronting rural communities, as identified above, Wendy found the tour invaluable in expanding her networks and her exposure to other regional enterprises and branding initiatives.

2004 Tasmanian Runner-Up - Sandra Phythian

Developing Leadership and Providing Facilitation and Mentoring for the Seafood Industry

At the time of the Award, Sandra was Principal of Fisheries Business Consulting Australasia and worked as a business consultant to the seafood industry. She had been intrinsically involved in the industry, both nationally and in Tasmania, for more than a decade. 

Sandra’s vision is for a seafood industry that is ecologically and economically sustainable, that promotes healthy quality products and where its operators take more responsibility and deal more proactively with issues critical to the industry and its future viability. 

She used the bursary to undertaken higher training into coaching, communication and diversity, people development and conflict and leadership facilitation, teams and training, to better equip herself as a consultant, facilitator and mentor to others in her industry. 

Sandra used her newly acquired skills to positive effect. She voluntarily designed and ran a leadership development program for the Tasmanian seafood industry. She was in the development stages of a true leadership program for persons involved in primary industries in Tasmania and was also planning workshops in personal and business skills for women in primary industries across Australia.

2004 Northern Territory Runner-Up - Megan Connolly (Hoskins)

Investigating How to Encourage a Shift Towards Sustainable Agricultural Practices-A Quest for Rural Community Change.

At the time of the Award Megan Hoskins worked as an Entomology Research and Extension Officer with the Northern Territory government based at Katherine.  Megan is committed to biological farming, often described as fusion farming or the fusing of the best farming practices and technologies used in organic, biodynamic and conventional farming systems.  She has no doubt that sustainable farming practices need to be embraced by primary producers if the future sustainability of rural industries is to be assured. However to encourage the shift from proven conventional methods to unproven alternatives, she believes requires producers to witness the results of biological farming practices for themselves. 

Megan’s focus was on increasing her knowledge and understanding of the principles behind successful biological farming and becoming familiar with its tools and techniques, before sharing her knowledge and expertise with producers.  She attended relevant workshops, including the Nutri Tech Solutions four part seminar series in sustainable agriculture, which was held in Adelaide in July 2004.

The course was delivered in four parts - mineral management and microbe management, plant management and pest management. The take home message for Megan was that treating the symptoms does not necessarily mean you are treating the cause and the cause is often a nutrient imbalance rather than a pesticide deficiency. 

The second course was the Soil Food Web Interaction and Benefits to Plant Production, a three week course held at the Southern Cross University at Lismore. The course provided detailed theoretical instruction and practical skills in soil biology, soil chemistry and molecular biology.  The courses taught Megan a great deal about soil and plant health and that the two can combine to assist in the growing of healthier and more nutritionally balanced crops. 

Megan wrote an article for the local government newsletter - the Katherine Rural Review on biological farming and had considerable interaction with fellow workers, industry support staff and primary producers, and continued to help producers monitor pest pressure in their crops.  Two notable success stories include a mango grower and a legume hay producer, who both started  to reap the benefits of biological farming in terms of reduced pesticide dependence and healthier more profitable crops.

2003 New South Wales Runner-Up - Megan Mosely

At the time of the Award, Megan lived in the western division of New South Wales, where she and her husband ran the family property ‘Etiwanda Station’ outside Cobar. 

Megan’s vision is for agriculture and its people to better balance profitability with the environment and their lifestyles by embracing Holistic Management and is committed to developing ‘Etiwanda Station’ holistically and into a learning site for other producers and the betterment of the Western Division. 

Holistic Management is defined as a decision making process which provides a practical and total approach to economically, environmentally and socially managing the property. 

Megan put her $5,000 bursary towards a project to aid in the controlled grazing and resting of country on the station. The project provided for better control of a large area of the station to begin the process of regeneration. 

Megan believed that the project delivered a number of notable and obvious benefits including increased plant coverage, health and diversity, reduced worm burden, increased stock health, increased weaning percentages from younger stock, regeneration of edible scrub species and a reduction in bare unprofitable ground.

Victorian Runner-Up - Kaye Scholfield

Kaye’s focus has always been about promoting partnerships and supporting communities, as the means of ensuring future and sustainable rural industries.  At the time of the Award, she was a woolgrower from Victoria’s western division and Manager of the Community Partnerships Program at the RMIT University’s Hamilton campus.  Kaye, with the support of her bursary, set out to develop a community of practice along the wool pipeline, with the objective of building a culture of responsibility on the ecological impact of wool on our environment. 

She worked with focus groups and developed and launched a website, www.envirowool.com to continue discussion and debate on the issue and to make discussion accessible to all.

The website continued for 12 months, and during that period additional and relevant papers were added to it to further the debate. Kaye had a group of farmers looking to set up a network of producers supporting ecologically sound practices and was working with a respected fashion designer in an effort to bring their perspective to the debate. That perspective was considered vitally important because of predicted consumer trends towards environmentally sound products, and the move towards product responsibility.

2003 Queensland Runner-up - Teena Mammino

In 2003 Mammino Gourmet Icecreams took out the Queensland Primary Industries Award for Product Marketing along with the Central Queensland Southern Reef Tourism Awards for Retailing.

They also took out the four gold awards for their ice cream at the Royal Queensland Dairy Produce Awards (EDKKA) and Teena was named the Bundaberg Business Manager of the Year.  Her vision was to continue to grow the business, both domestically and, in the long term, overseas, and to provide alternate value added rural business and employment opportunities to the region. 

Her $5,000 bursary allowed Teena to attend the Ice-Cream Essentials Course at Griffith University in Melbourne in May 2002. This is the only course of its kind in teaching the fundamentals of ice cream manufacturing and is held only once a year.

Teena claimed the media coverage, community ownership, and profile the Award generated was nothing short of incredible. She presented at 32 events over the 12 month tenure. She also claimed a 20% increase in profit from the business over the following 18 months, as a direct result of her increased exposure. At the time of the Award, Mammino Gourmet Ice cream was stocked in over 50 outlets throughout Queensland and they were negotiating with Queensland Rail with a view to having their product sold on Queensland Rail.

2003 South Australian Runner-Up - Heather Burdon

Heather has worked in the livestock transport industry since the early 1970’s, operating with her husband a very successful livestock carrying business - Argyle Transport Pty Ltd - and has been an active member across numerous industry associations. 

She was instrumental in developing Truckcare, the quality management system for livestock transporters and for the six years prior to the Award had been Promotions Officer for Truckcare on behalf of the Australian Livestock Transporters Association. Truckcare aims to raise awareness and assist its members improve their individual businesses, their animal welfare practices and customer relations.

Heather put her $5,000 bursary towards the publication of a Booklet titled ‘Together Everyone Achieves More’ (TEAM).  The booklet highlights the roles and responsibilities of each party in the livestock supply chain, in ensuring best practice in animal welfare and livestock loading, while promoting a collaborative approach across the chain.  10,000 copies of the book were printed and distributed throughout saleyard venues, transport operators, stock and station agents and farmers organizations offices and relevant conferences.

2003 Western Australia Runner-Up - Suzanne Woods

For Suzanne Woods the Award brought her face to face with potential new customers and potential new markets for her specialty flour. Her farm produces its own line of soft wheat flour, Emdavale Farm Flour, which is sold both domestically in Western Australia and overseas.  Suzanne’s vision for agriculture is to offer alternate and value adding opportunities to grain growers to allow them to diversify their economic base from traditional farming.

She put her $5,000 bursary towards travel both to the eastern states and overseas. The study tour of the eastern states covered Melbourne, Canberra, Young, Parkes, and Narromine, meeting with flour millers and the food service sector and growing her knowledge and contacts within the industry.

The Singapore trip centred on exhibiting her flour product at the Food Hotel Asia expo. Singapore was previously identified by Austrade as one of the most likely export markets for her flour. As a result of the trip, new contacts were made and product samples delivered, with the prospect of new customers.

Tasmanian Runner-Up - Christine Mann

Christine is the first female to graduate with a Degree in Surveying from the University of Tasmania, complemented with a Graduate Diploma in Surveying Practice in Queensland. 

At the time of the Award she operated her own business, providing expertise on Geographical Information Systems (GIS), aerial photography and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to a variety of industries, including her passion, agriculture and has worked on the use of aerial photography and GPS’ s as management tools for rural enterprises.

She directed her bursary towards developing and marketing low altitude aerial photography/computer mapping packages for agricultural enterprises and undertaking a pilot project to demonstrate the benefits of global positioning and mapping technology in agricultural enterprises. 

She also completed a number of training courses relevant to her project, including a Certificate 1V Assessment & Workplace Training (TAFE Tasmania) and a Small Business Management Course (TAFE Tasmania). Christine says the $5,000 bursary allowed her to undertake training that she would otherwise have found difficult to justify and to purchase equipment to progress her vision.

2002 New South Wales Runner-up - Ruth Quigley

Ruth and her family run a mixed farming operation incorporating wheat and cotton, cattle and olives. At the time of the Award she also owned and operated her own information technology and web development business, servicing a number of rural clients, including the NSW Rural Counselling Service and the stud merino outfit Haddon Rig.

Ruth’s vision is for agriculture to continue to strive to improve in farming and in business and to promote its achievements through the sharing of information and knowledge. 

Central to her proposed activity was the development of a website - Ozcotton.net - to enhance the sharing of information, ideas and even job opportunities within the cotton industry. The site had the potential to act as a portal for those who want to reach the Australian cotton industry and to showcase Australian cotton products to the world. 

With the site up and running, Ruth sees its potential as a one stop information and networking shop for the whole cotton industry, its numerous organisations and growers.

2002 New South Runner-up - Sandra Doyle

Sandra and her husband own and operate a goat stud, comprising of 200 Boer full blood and cross bred goats.  At the time of the Award, they had spent the previous four years building up their herd and establishing a goat meat cooperative targeting the restaurant trade. Their professionalism was evidenced by their first place position at the 2000 Sydney Royal Easter Show in the Hoof and Hook Competition.

Sandra’s vision was to improve the quality and consistency of goat meat to a standard comparable to that of the sheep and beef industries and suitable for the high value restaurant trade.

Her proposed activity involved developing a training program encompassing the production of consistently high quality animals through to the effective marketing of the meat to the restaurant trade.  The project, Sandra believes, opens up huge opportunities for rural women to put to use their under- utilized skills and talents.

2002 Victorian Runner-up - Tracey Delbridge

Tracey’s career focus has been on sustainable resource management. She has facilitated and coordinated a number of natural resource management programs including Waterwatch, Junior Landcare and Coast Action. 

At the time of the Award she owned and operated a small eco-tourism business, Moonbird Tours, which focused on interpretation of the natural environment, indigenous culture, ecology and education. She was also a field officer for Greening Australia for the south west region of Victoria. Her vision is for all to appreciate and value the natural resource and to actively take part in its management and sustainability. 

She intended to undertake an internship at the Institute of Earth Education at Cedar Cove, Greenville in America and planned to facilitate a series of active community and industry workshops designed to enthuse, motivate and revitalise community and industry education programs.

She hoped to support the delivery of catchment education programs by offering innovative styles based on integrating ‘Earth Education’ ethics and current catchment education program goals. The purchase of a mobile education trailer would assist Moonbird Tours in the facilitation of the ‘river-sea-land’ program, a program designed to integrate catchment management issues through interactive education programs, that involved bringing living ecosystems to regionally isolated communities throughout the state.

2002 Victorian Runner-up - Joanne Butterworth-Gray

At the time of the Award Joanne and her husband owned and operated a fruit and berry farm that they value added into an epicuran centre complete with restaurant and accommodation. 

She was a member of the Victorian Food Advisory Group and Gippsland Women in Business and a Board member and Marketing Chairperson for Gippsland Agribusiness. 

Joanne established the Gippsland Epicurean Network and a dedicated website: www.tasteofgippsland.com.au. This followed a feasibility study that confirmed the significant opportunities for agribusiness in promoting and marketing produce through a regional network. The network and  website  promotes and facilitates sales of Gippsland’s specialty agriculture produce, while achieving economies of scale for its producers.

Joanne’s vision was to realise Gippsland as a sustainable agribusiness centre offering employment and business opportunities for rural women based on a regional food brand for its raw and value added products. 

She planned to further develop the project, by identifying new agricultural producers and suppliers, stronger networking and marketing effort and investigations into new domestic and international sales outlets and markets.

2002 Queensland Runner-up - Sonya Maley

At the time of the Award, Sonya and her husband owned and operated a permaculture and bamboo farm in northern Queensland. Her farm was in part self-sufficient and fully self-sustaining through access to remote area power supply water from adjacent World Heritage listed forests.

Sonya’s vision is to grow the bamboo industry into an innovative and viable long term sustainable primary industry for northern Australia.

Bamboo is an extremely versatile crop. It is unique in its production of a vigorous and annually renewable source of biomass for fibre, fuel and food applications including renewable energy, standard building materials and can also be used in bioremediation applications and carbon credits.

Sonya undertook extensive research and on-farm trials of bamboo, and established a Steering Committee to investigate the future feasibility of the industry. 

Her proposed activity focused on information transfer of simple bamboo farming techniques and future directions for the industry through a video production. The video would equip primary producers with the knowledge they need to consider bamboo as a viable alternative and give them the practical skills to undertake their new venture. The video would be produced as a result of a study tour of the east coast from northern NSW to far north Queensland.

2002 Queensland Runner-up - Suzanne Nation

Suzanne returned to the family farm, which she purchased, and diversified from its traditional livestock and cropping enterprises into wine grapes and olives. 

In 2001 she signed contracts with Greening Australia and Land for Wildlife, effectively committing close to half the farm to nature conservation and integration with other land management practices.

Suzanne was Secretary of the Central Downs Branch of the Queensland Rural Women’s Network and an Executive Committee Member of the Queensland Vine Improvement Association.

Her vision was for a new agricultural industry in the establishment of a wine based herbal beverage from early stage reject wine grapes.

She believed there was the opportunity to develop a whole new niche industry from what is currently regarded as a waste product of the wine industry.

Suzanne planned as a first step to develop her skills and knowledge of the wine industry and its people, and experiment further with the potential of this new beverage.

2002 South Australia Runner-up - Susan Berlin

At the time of the Award, Susan and her husband owned and operated the largest sheep dairy in Australia, milking around 300 sheep and producing some 16 tonnes of cheese and 34 tonnes of yogurt a year.  The company, Island Pure, was involved in the total supply chain, from managing the sheep, to milking, right through to processing, packaging and marketing sheep cheese and yogurt throughout Australia. 

At the time of the Award, Susan was Chair of Agriculture Kangaroo Island, a group committed to the future viability and sustainability of primary industries on the Island.  

Susan’s vision is to expand the sheep dairy industry and its value added potential and provide employment opportunities and an alternate enterprise for rural Australia.  Her proposed activity was to gain much needed IT computer training with the intent of developing a computer program that will work on weighting the significant influencing parameters behind milk volume. 

Her activity involved the collection of data on various performance indicators from each animal, assessment of those indicators for both economic influence and genetic heritability, and the development of a computer program ranking individual animals and their economic performance.

2002 South Australia Runner-up - Carol Johnson

At the time of the Award, Carol was manager of the Millicient Stock Saleyards and was the only female stock saleyard manager in Australia. Under her leadership, throughput at the saleyard increased by 28 percent, while prices commanded were the highest in South Australia. 

Carol achieved major milestones for the yards, including accreditation for quality assurance under the National Saleyards Quality Assurance Ltd (one of only three yards nationally to achieve this status), accreditation for SLEPP (Saudi Livestock Export Preparation Procedures) and accreditation for the European Union, with the yards boasting a bull selling ring and nine buyers’ cattle delivery pens.  She was awarded the Notable Achievement for Excellence in Saleyard Management and Service, by the Livestock Transport Association of South Australia Inc. 

Carol’s vision was to motivate other women to get involved in the industry and to lift the image of saleyards as a venue for livestock exchanges. She proposed to write a book, a warts-and-all account of her experiences as a Saleyard Manager, taking into account some of the momentus times for the industry and its people. The book, she hoped, would encourage other women to enter this field of work, while educating men on some of the difficulties women face in this industry.

2002 Western Australia Runner-up - Tracey Elbert

Tracey is a partner in a mixed farming operation, specialising in coarse grains, wool and prime lamb production. She spends a significant part of her time marketing their produce through markets such as wheat futures. At the time of the Award she was also Chair of the newly formed Fitzgerald Biosphere Marketing Association (FBMA).

Biospheres are defined as areas of unique biological diversity, where people work in harmony with their environment. They are internationally recognised within the framework of UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere program.  The FBMA was established to develop a recognised regional brand to encourage the community to responsibly produce and market edge agricultural products. Tracey, on behalf of FBMA, was asked to present to the 5th International Fair of the Rural World, to be held in Sicily, Italy. 

Tracey’s vision was to utilise the region’s greatest asset, its biosphere status and its great produce, to ensure the future viability of the region and its farming community. She also sees marketing and value adding opportunities for women through this initiative. 

She proposed to undertake study tours to two successful biospheres, the Bookmark Biosphere in South Australia and the Rhon Biosphere in Germany, to learn from their experiences, setbacks and successes. The knowledge she acquired would then be fed back through a series of regional workshops and subsequent marketing and brand promotion.

2002 Western Australia Runner-up - Pamela Williamson

Pamela has been an active partner in a mixed farming operation for more than thirty years, during which time she has also had a heavy involvement with rural women and rural and remote education.

In 1997, Pamela was elected as a Councillor to the Shire of Kondinin and served as Deputy President. It was the first time a woman had held an Executive position in 75 years. As part of the Council role, Pamela was involved with the management of the Hyden-Karlgarin Landcare group and was inaugural President of the Shire of Kondinin Bush Heritage Committee. 

Pamela’s vision was to overcome the odds of prices, seasonal fluctuations and the major environmental challenges of salinity and ensure the continued viability of the family farm. 

Her proposed activity involved farming fish in a natural bush setting with the saline water being ponded and dried to become stock and table salt. The project she envisaged could be expanded to include rural tourism opportunities and demonstration sites incorporating solar and wind energy and recycled products. 

She saw this project developing not only into an opportunity to solve one of the region’s major environmental problems, but as a major education tool, an alternate income source for rural women and the region’s farming families and as a major recreational site for those wishing to enjoy bush living at its best.

2002 Tasmanian Runner-up - Christine Mann

Christine is the first female to complete a Degree in Surveying at the University of Tasmania, complimented by a Graduate Diploma in Surveying Practice in Queensland. Following the completion of her degree, she developed a geographical information system for the Launceston City Council, an Australian Rural Youth Study Tour to Switzerland and held the position of Chief Surveyor for North Forest Products. 

At the time of the Award, she had been operating her own business, providing expertise on Geographical Information Systems (GIS), aerial photography and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to a variety of industries, including her passion, agriculture. 

Christine has been a very active member of Rural Youth Tasmania and has held a number of key positions at Agfest, Tasmania’s premier field day event. Her vision is for every Tasmanian farming enterprise to have access to a fully integrated land management system that allows farmers to make informed decisions using leading edge technology. 

Her proposed activity involved developing and marketing low altitude aerial photography/computer mapping packages for agricultural enterprises, while undertaking a pilot project to demonstrate the benefits of global positioning technology to agriculture.

Christine believes this technology offers agriculture huge benefits, with accurate and relevant information allowing farmers to better embrace opportunities and increase productivity.

2002 Northern Territory Runner-up - Beverley Wilson

Beverley has been involved in the pastoral industry in the Northern Territory since the early 1980’s and works with her husband on the family property.  She is very interested in feral animal control and has been involved in buffalo control and management through the Brucellosis and Tuberculosis Eradication Campaign.

Beverley’s vision for agriculture is to utilise all of its resources including its feral animals, while preserving the biodiversity of the environment.

She is very concerned about the feral pig problem in the Territory and the resultant destruction of the environment. She sees opportunities in the pigmeat industry for rural women.

Beverley’s proposed activity was to coordinate the Territory’s pigmeat trade by setting up the physical infrastructure to collect, grow and slaughter pigs, coupled with a major marketing campaign to secure sales for the meat.

2001 New South Wales Runner-up - Barbara Nutthall

At the time of the Award, Barbara with her husband and two sons ran a wool, prime lamb and cereal crop production operation north-west of Young, on the South West slopes of New South Wales. In 1998 she realised an opportunity for her to diversify the family’s enterprise into geese production and was actively involved in the establishment of a goose breeding venture.

While the demand for geese meat and other products was strong, with a market estimated at about 20,000 geese a year, the industry was still in its very formative stages, with poor egg fertility rates the major factor currently limiting the industry’s future expansion. 

Barbara’s vision was for a viable and environmentally friendly enterprise, not only for her own property, but the opportunity of a new venture for other rural women and a new and prosperous industry for rural Australia. She planned to travel overseas, to Taiwan, America, France, Ireland and the UK, to study first hand from the breeding and management practices of more established industries, government agencies and research institutions and translate that knowledge back into her own venture and into the Australian industry.

2001 New South Wales Runner-up - Linda Duffy

At the time of the Award, Linda worked as Rural Financial Counsellor based at Hay in the Western Riverina of NSW. Her initial appointment to the position came as a result of the mid 1990’s devastating drought, but the demand for financial analysis and emotional support from rural people continued. She was seriously concerned by the somewhat negative attitude and outlook by rural communities, particularly from its more senior members. 

Her vision for the future of agriculture was for its people to be positive, to restore pride and confidence in what they do, to inspire other industries and to inject vigor into their communities.

She proposed to establish an Intergenerational Exchange, to better value and utilise the wealth of knowledge and experience of the community’s more senior members, in an effort to reinvigorate rural people and their communities and to provide support for younger members of rural communities to encourage them in their enterprises. The first step was the establishment of a pilot focus group to drive the Exchange and prioritise the issues critical to the local community.

2001 Victoria Runner-up - Jo Gardner

At the time of the Award, Jo owned and operated Gardner Herbs Australia, one of the country’s largest brokers, processors, propogators and wildcrafters of medicinal and culinary herbs. Her business was the largest supplier of domestically grown dry medicinal herbs in Australia with over 300 growers supplying dried and fresh products annually. She has a deep concern about the exodus of young people and the subsequent impact on the sustainability of regional communities. 

In 2000 Jo was elected to the Wimmera Catchment Management Authority and was its representative to Wimmera 2020, a committee dedicated to investigating sustainable development within the region. 

Jo completed a Diploma in Business Management - International Trade, which she found to be extremely rewarding, in terms of the opportunities, networks and mentors the course opened to her. 

Her vision was for a sustainable future for agriculture and rural communities, by recognising and rewarding the contribution of its rural youth. Jo was committed to being a catalyst, by offering her services to encourage young people into the Diploma or like training, to improve their self-esteem and future career opportunities and by doing so help reinvigorate rural communities.

2001 Victorian Runner-up - Lisa Jarvis

The major part of Lisa’s career has been as a youth and community development worker in metropolitan and regional Victoria. She returned to the family farm, 40 acres of which remains of the original farm that has been held in her family for three generations. 

Since returning to Bambra, Lisa established ‘Kyah Initiatives’, a project management and development consultancy that utilises operating frameworks focusing upon people, environment and culture.

Lisa’s vision is for a sustainable future for agriculture, for regional communities and for its people and in particular its youth.

Her vision for sustainable agriculture involved the creation of the Kyah Valley Niche Agriculture and Sustainable Culture Demonstration Farm.

The Kyah Valley Project aimed to demonstrate sustainable enterprises and niche market opportunities, which utilise and develop agricultural and enterprise practices that encourage biodiversity, and environmental and ethical soundness.

The farm would offer employment and enterprises opportunities, particularly for young people in regional communities, while acting as a valuable research and education resource through the stringent documentation of all activities and technologies.

Lisa’s passion is the creation of community through the development of sustainable and dynamic approaches to creating opportunities for learning, interaction and enterprise.

South Australia Runner-up - June Gill

At the time of the Award June had been actively involved in the SA marine scale fishing industry, at the grass roots, for the past thirty years. Over 2001-2001 June had established an export facility for whole chilled marine scale fish for export direct into the Japanese market. 

June was the founding Chair of the Women’s Industry Network, a network developed in South Australia in 1996 which grew into a national body known as the Women’s Industry Network Seafood Community and currently holds the position of Chair. She conducted numerous workshops and wrote as many articles, all with the aim of encouraging and empowering women in the seafood industry to participate in its decision making at both local and state levels.

She was also voluntary Project Officer for the Marine Scale Net Fisheries Association, where she was responsible for developing the industry’s Code of Practice, covering environmental and resource management, and handling and compliance standards. She was also the first female observer to sit on the South Australian Fishing Industry Council and was a member of the Rural Women’s Advisory Group and was a steering group member of the Commonwealth Fisheries Policy Review.

June’s vision for her industry, the Marine Scale Fishing Industry, was to secure for its fishing families, the best dollar for quality product through both the domestic and international market, while preserving the catch quantity. She firmly believes that returns can be significantly improved through value adding and smarter marketing, through the development of the Adelaide Central Fish Market into a Central Market Co-operative. She believes the SA Co-operative in turn will provide new post harvest value adding with a South Australian brand and greater marketing opportunities, to grow the industry domestically and internationally.

June planned to undertake a study tour of domestic and international fish marketing centres, as the first course of action to assessing world’s best practice. A paper was to be written on her experience which would provide a working link to a SA Steering group. June and this group would then work towards her longer term vision of the establishment of a world class SA Fish Market Co-operative.

2001 South Australia Finalist - Tracy Warland

Tracy is recognised as a pioneer and an international authority on seahorses, having undertaken extensive research and trial work into seahorses. She was one of the first in Australia to be granted the right to breed and harvest seahorses and now has permits to breed six species of seahorse, two species of pipefish and the weedy sea dragon. 

At the time of the Award Tracy owned and operated one of only four seahorse farms worldwide and mainland Australia’s first captive bred seahorse breeding facility, supplying seahorses to the world’s aquarium market.

Her vision is to protect the wild catch seahorse from extinction, through education along with captive breeding programs such as her own. Tracy’s ambition was to establish a public aquarium interpretive centre for seahorses and associated species. 

She sees the centre as not only a powerful educational tool, but a huge tourism resource for Australia and the region of Port Lincoln. The first step to achieving her vision was to undertake a feasibility study into the new venture. The centre she envisaged would include a public display, a captive breeding program and further down the track an interpretive and cultural centre.

2001 Western Australia Runner-up - Janette O'Keefe

Dr O’Keefe is a veterinary practitioner, and at the time of the Award worked from her farm to service a client base of some 5,000 farmers and others in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. Janette serviced her clients by phone and on farm visits, and extended her practise to incorporate a website to provide for online consulting and eventually visual and audio support, a public database and online discussions.

Janette strongly believes in environmental medicine and in preventative and early intervention practices and works with her clients to adopt animal management practices that reduce the risks to their animals and the costs of veterinary support. In addition to her own practice and supporting her husband on the farm and piggery, Janette was heavily involved in a number of community initiatives.

She was one of the instigators of the Kukerin Enterprise Group, a community self-help group, committed to promoting and supporting the region’s tourism and commercial businesses. She also provided veterinary and other support to numerous regional events, including the Wagin Woolaramma, the Pingrup Races and the Kulin Bush Races. 

Her personal vision was two-fold. To have a cost effective and sustainable farming sector, which employs environmentally sound practices and a sustainable and vibrant regional community. She believes for the farm sector to be sustainable, so too must the regional community, that the two go hand in hand and must support each other to survive.

To achieve her vision for the farm sector, Janette planned to expand her business, particularly online, to ensure her farm’s viability and through the establishment of a traineeship, act as an example to others of the opportunities to expand and diversify a commerical business in the bush.

To achieve her vision for her regional community, she intended to, through the Kukerin Enterprise Group, develop a campaign that promotes the region and fosters new commercial initiatives, while encouraging an environment of community spirit and participation by all including their vital youth.

2001 Western Australia Runner-up - Pamela Lincoln

Pamela originally trained as a dietitian and community nutritionist and worked in the city, but chose to live the rest of her life in regional Western Australia as a primary producer. She changed careers, having completed her Wine Science degree in 1999 and undertaking additional study in Integrated Pest Management, Nutrition and Water Management for Grapevines. In 1997 Pam and her husband began establishing a wine grape vineyard on the outskirts of Albany and in 2001 enjoyed their first harvest. 

Pam is a firm believer in the importance of a healthy vibrant rural sector to the rest of Australia, its people and the overall economy. She believes there is an acute lack of awareness in the general community about the quality and variety of produce we grow and has taken every opportunity to promote the produce of her region. Her vision was all about recognition, acknowledging and valuing the food, wine and people of the southern region of Western Australia and instilling in the general community a food culture and a pride in our produce and primary producers. 

She planned to produce a high quality publication, featuring stories and photographs of the people and produce of the region, while putting the southern region of Western Australia on the world food culture map. The book will be aligned with the values of the international association, ‘Slowfood’ and will focus on the diversity and innovation in agriculture.

2001 Tasmania Runner-up - Anne Heazlewood

Anne and her husband operate the family businesses of Heazlewood Farming and Heazlewood Seeds. They have been farming in the district of Whitemore since 1823 and Anne’s children will become the sixth generation to farm.  Their farming enterprise is centred around small seed production, with perennial ryegrass being the main cultivar, in rotation with green peas, opium poppies and cereals. The enterprise also produces English and Border Leicester sheep for flock ram production. 

Heazlewood Seeds cleans processes and exports a range of seeds from their farm and surrounding farms and also controls the production, processing and exporting of Tasmanian buckwheat to Japan for high quality noodle production. 

At the time of the Award Anne was an active member of Tasmanian Women in Agriculture and Secretary and Administrator of Peam’s Steam World Management Trust Committee. Her vision was to see agriculture remain a viable and sustainable business so that future generations will be encouraged to enter the industry. 

Her ambition was to increase the diversity within her operations and create a new enterprise in the briquetting of hay and straw, while minimising the environmental impact of the seed weed offal by its value adding into briquetts. She planned to travel to Europe to investigate briquetting machines and markets, with the view to establishing markets both domestically and overseas for both the offal and hay and straw. 

Anne believed that this initiative, an Australian first, will pave the way for the seed clean industry to achieve an economically attractive product from what is currently regarded as the industrys’ biggest environmental problem.

2001 Tasmanian Runner-up - Jodie Epper

At the time of the Award Jodie was employed as the Bushcare Extension Officer with Greening Australia. Her work involved the delivery of the Land for Wildlife Program and Bushcare Extension Services to rural communities across the state.

Jodie executed numerous Bushcare restoration projects, managed the Landcare Environment Action Program, volunteer groups and facilitated group and individual education sessions at Agfest. She produced a training manual, the Land for Wildlife Procedures Manual, which will provide the foundation for farmer training and education throughout the state. 

Jodie’s vision was for nature conservation to be an integral and valued part of every agricultural enterprise throughout the state, by establishing a mechanism that rewards farmers for their environmental efforts. She believes that in the future there will be an increasing consumer demand for food that is produced using environmentally sustainable practices. 

She also believes there will be exciting opportunities for producers to not only gain access to high value international markets, but reduce the negative impacts of some current land management practices, by incorporating nature conservation into their enterprises. Jodie planned to undertake research both here and overseas, to determine the possible mechanisms and the market needs and demands.

2001 Northern Territory Runner-up - Miriam Golding

Miriam is a pioneer in the rapidly expanding Northern Territory horticultural industry. She is a grassroots mango grower, who with her husband, developed from scratch their mango orchard outside Katherine. At the time of the Award, she was a partner in their central packhouse facility based off farm, which traded under the ‘Katherine Gorgeous Mangoes’ label and offered a picking, packing and marketing service to over 50 growers in the Katherine region.

Miriam is deeply committed to rural women and their advancement and has served on the Board of the Australian Women in Agriculture. She has also held an executive position on the NT Horticultural Association as the President of the Katherine branch and was involved in the national advisory group with the HRDC Women in Horticulture program.

Her vision for agriculture was to develop a sustainable industry based on profits while showing a healthy respect for the environment and the family farm, which she believes is the building block for rural communities. 

With production of mangoes in the Northern Territory set to double, Miriam saw the development of the export market as critical to their business and to the future viability of the industry. She also believed it was essential to expand the varieties of mangoes available to meet the different market requirements in various locations. With this in mind, Miriam set about grafting and planting a selection of mango varieties, including R2E2 and Honey Gold, to compliment their established orchard of the traditional Kensington Pride Mangoes. 

She planned to explore export market opportunities for mangoes in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, seeking out first hand their product, packaging and market requirements. Miriam planned to undertake an overseas study tour in two parts, firstly Asia including Hong Kong and China and Singapore, before travelling to the Middle East and Europe to coincide with the arrival of NT mangoes into those markets.

2001 Northern Territory Runner-up - Katrina Tucker

At the time of the Award Katrina had been researching, trialling and producing exotic spices in the Territory for over a decade. Her tenacity and dedication to this new and emerging industry has made her an authority in the Territory in her field.

At the time of the Award Barramond Tropical Fruits and Exotic Spice Farm had been in operation for ten years and played a major role in the development of industry’s quality assurance, food quality and food safety standards.

Katrina marketed exotic spices on a weekly basis interstate and primarily through an agent into the Sydney market. She is also commited to rural women and to ensuring their financial independence, through the production of exotic spices which provide a regular and reliable income. She was elected the Northern Territory President of Australian Women in Agriculture.

She regularly held open days and field days on her farm to share her knowledge and experience and was available for industry training through the Northern Territory University’s Horticulture Department.

Katrina’s vision was to see her industry grow through the creation of new markets and to provide for rural women a new commerical enterprise that develops their skills and resources and offers them financial independence. She planned to grow her industry and act as a catalyst to encouraging new growers through the production and promotion of a exhaustive and practical guide to the spice industry.

She also planned to purchase and install the necessary apparatus for the distillation of essential oils, expanding the capacity of not only her own operation but the industry in the Northern Territory.

2000 New South Wales Runner-up – Sue McGinn OAM

2000 New South Wales Runner-up – Margaret Taylor

2000 Victoria Runner-up – Alison Brinson

2000 Victoria Runner-up – Jo Gardner

2000 Queensland Runner-up – Janet Campbell

2000 Queensland Runner-up – Kerrie Richards

2000 South Australia Runner-up – Jaylene Fuge

2000 Western Australian Runner-up - Shelley Birch

2000 Western Australia Runner-up – Anne Jennings

2000 Tasmania Runner-up – Jane Allwright

2000 Tasmania Runner-up – Anne Heazlewood

2000 Northern Territory Runner-up – Terry Underwood