“ … I’d never been on a farm. I hadn’t even met a farmer, and here I was with these things in my portfolio.”
Farm World is seen by many in the local area each year to be a hive of all things masculine, but former Governor-General Quentin Bryce and Australian Dairy Farmers CEO Natalie Collard were guest speakers on Thursday for what is now an annual push to recognise the contributions women make to life on the land, as RUSSELL BENNETT explains.
THE Thursday each year of Warragul’s four-day Farm World extravaganza at Lardner Park is known as ‘ladies day’ – where the extensive involvement of women in farming and agriculture is explored and celebrated.
The idea is the brainchild of Angela Betheras, who was the first woman to ever be appointed to the committee of Lardner Park Events and was recognised as Victorian Rural Woman of the Year in 2011.
This year, she introduced two extraordinary speakers who regaled the audience at the Lardner Park Exhibition Centre with stories of their involvement with life on the land.
“In 2011, I had the great honour of being the Victorian Rural Woman of the Year and I came to the board and the committee and said I wanted to do something for women in agriculture to do with Farm World and bring women back in to Farm World,” Ms Betheras explained.
“We put our heads together and decided to come up with this luncheon and called for Thursday – the first day of Farm World each year – to be ladies day and I’m very pleased to say that everybody has jumped on board and each year we seem to get better and better, and more and more people come along.”
Dame Quentin Bryce, the 25th Governor-General of Australia and the first woman to ever hold the position; and Australian Dairy Farmers (ADF) CEO Natalie Collard each gave their own perspective into Australian farming.
The initiative is backed by the Commonwealth Bank, particularly their ‘Women in Focus’ team, and is also supported by key Gippsland women’s network ‘Women in Gippsland’, which was set up to inspire, connect and empower Gippsland women.
This year they’re championing the prevention of men’s violence against women and at each of their events they’re building awareness and promoting discussion of the topic.
Ms Collard was appointed chief executive officer of the ADF in June 2011.
Prior to joining as general manager in 2008, she was the manager of rural affairs for the National Farmers Federation – Australia’s peak agricultural lobby group. She was also named Telstra Businesswoman of the Year for Victoria in 2013 in the Community and Government category.
“Around 90 per cent of farm businesses are family-owned and operated,” she told a packed room at the exhibition centre.
“What this means is that business decisions often are made in partnership.
“In my opinion, that means that perhaps agriculture has the highest rate of female leadership of any sector in Australia.”
Ms Collard said there was a misconception that leaders were born into their roles – that they were perfect and somewhat untouchable.
“But the truth is that we all have to start somewhere and often the journey is just as important as the destination,” she added.
“During my journey there have been lots of obstacles and plenty of mistakes, lots of self-doubt also. I think we women seem to be particularly good at self-doubt.
“At times the only way I have found to move forward was to tackle one obstacle at a time and to hold on to my beliefs that the distance between where you are now and where you would like to be is shorter than you think.”
Ms Collard’s role with the ADF came at the end of a journey that included a number of stops along the way at university, the Army Reserve, and the Department of Defence. But it was in 2000 that Ms Collard began to feel as though something was missing.
“We were in the midst of the worst drought that Australia had ever experienced,” she said.
“It was also a drought that was changing the way I lived in Canberra. Do you remember short showers, not watering the garden unless it was an odd or even day, and washing the car being illegal? I realised that if the drought was impacting my inner-city life, then the impact on rural Australia must be devastating.
“So, I took a leap of faith and approached the National Farmers Federation to learn more and to see if there was a way I could help. Incredibly, after a couple of meetings I was appointed Manager for Rural Affairs.
“My portfolio included drought policy, farm management and agriculture. If you’d like to know a little secret – I’d never been on a farm. I hadn’t even met a farmer, and here I was with these things in my portfolio.”
Ms Collard soon realised this was an industry she’d come to love, and a job that she would soon thrive in.
“I met people that would inspire and change me forever,” she said.
“I learnt very quickly just how intelligent, resilient, and humble farmers are.
“Without their generosity in sharing their knowledge with me there is no way I could have ever succeeded in my position. I also learned that it doesn’t matter how decked out you are in RM Williams, when you drive right past a farm gate and you keep coming back and driving past again, they know you’re a city slicker!”
Ms Collard learned eight valuable lessons along the way – to plan to be happy, to embrace fear, to be strategic, to be authentic, to be present, to find balance, to set goals, and to realise that thankyou is the magic word.
Dame Quentin Bryce was last year appointed as the chair of the new taskforce aimed at reducing domestic violence incidents in Queensland. Her many other roles include associations with the National Breast Cancer Advisory Council, and the Australian Women’s Cricket Board.
Having grown up in the small central west Queensland town of Ilfracombe, a little over 20 kilometres outside of Longreach, Dame Quentin said nothing warmed her heart more than looking into a room full of women sharing their ideas and experiences in agriculture, “to listen and learn, and to feel uplifted and inspired”.
“This is a very significant occasion – to celebrate the achievements and contributions of women in agriculture and recognise with pride your commitment, hard work and creativity; all you do every day for your communities, for our country to enhance our economic, social and cultural life,” she said.
“I couldn’t resist the invitation to be here today, knowing that I’d be getting onto the road into this beautiful landscape. That sense of space among trees, and those great gums as you come to the entrance of Gate 4 (at Lardner Park) – they must be an artist’s joy. The grasses and the rolling hills – our Australian countryside. Somehow it brings a sense of inner peace and reassurance.
“Farm World is Victoria’s largest, regional agricultural event with 700 exhibitors. I just love the packed program. What a brilliant showcase of products, services and initiatives. There really is something for everybody over these four days. There’s so much enormous machinery to try before I buy!”
Dame Quentin said she still thought of herself “as a country girl”, adding: “It’s how I see myself and it’s where my roots are – where my sisters and I still feel like we belong and where we make pilgrimages.
“My parents met in the west. They married there and established our family there, and we made life-long friendships – true, enduring friendships. They were happy times among people with views we hold dear and which are central to who we are.
“They’re personal qualities and attributes to admire – courtesy, respect, resilience, perseverance, integrity, and at all times care and compassion in tough times and the rough days. As Adam Lindsay Gordon wrote “Kindness in another’s trouble, courage in your own”.
Farm World is the number one event on Lardner Park’s annual calendar. Hundreds of exhibitors provide visitors with a comprehensive range of agricultural and farming products to inspect, and to gather the latest information to make important buying decisions.
This year a new initiative enabled prospective purchasers to trial an array of tractors, front-end loaders, telehandlers and utility vehicles with a controlled demonstration area.
And every year both the physical and mental health and well-being of farmers is examined in a series of demonstrations and presentations, and with the aid of a number of information stalls.
