Robertson dairy farmer Cressida Cains named runner up at National Rural Women’s Award 2021

The Southern Highlands pioneer is inspiring the next generation of innovative farmers with her approach to the industry. Find out what the secret is behind her business Dairy Cocoon and how it’s helping others.

Southern Highlands dairy pioneer Cressida Cains has been named the national runner up for the Rural Women’s Award 2020 after an exciting virtual ceremony on Wednesday.

Ms Cains was recognised last year as the NSW/ACT Rural Women’s Award finalist for her innovative agricultural venture Dairy Cocoon. The passionate dairy farmer from Robertson said she was inspired to start the not-for-profit after she was alarmed by the number of small dairy operations closing down.

After successfully diversifying and bolstering her own dairy business, Pecora Dairy, Ms Cains was inspired to develop a way to help other dairy farmers. She began developing a not-for-profit platform to help dairy farmers develop and produce their own unique-branded dairy products.

Her support hub Dairy Cocoon provides access to business tools, information, and education to assist dairy farmers in shifting from traditional sales to a self-sufficient alternative which meets the growing desire for artisan Australian products.

2020 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award runner up Cressida Cains and her business partner and husband, Michael Cains.

Ms Cains said she was thrilled to be a finalist for “Australia’s top premier award for supporting and nurturing rural women”.

“I was deeply honoured to be selected as the winner for NSW,” she said.

“I’ve had huge opportunities through the award which has allowed me to talk about my passions, which are the dairy industry and my organisation Dairy Cocoon, which is about helping small dairy farmers build strong independent brands.”

With assistance from the $10,000 bursary she received as a finalist, Ms Cains launched Dairy Cocoon in April and has received an “amazing response”.

“I’ve been contacted by dozens and dozens of dairy farmers and I know there have been lots of downloads of the resources that are available on the website,” she said.

Despite the encouraging buzz around the platform, Ms Cains recognises changing a longstanding business model is not a quick process, especially for family-run operations.

“These things take time but if I can help any number of small family owned dairy farms, then I’m absolutely thrilled,” she said.

Cressida Cains with award-winning Pecora Dairy cheeses. Picture: Leah Timms

Pecora Dairy was recently awarded the National Trophy for the Delicious Produce Awards. Picture: Leah Timms

Meanwhile, Ms Cains continues to push boundaries with Pecora Dairy, which has become the first cheese maker in Australia to make a completely uncooked raw milk cheese, creating a new category of Australian cheese.

While agriculture has traditionally been a male-dominated industry, Ms Cains said she believed women are becoming more visible, especially with awards like the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award highlighting the inventive projects undertaken by rural women.

“I would like to see more strong female voices in leadership roles in agriculture within Australia and I do think that the tide is turning for women to really take on these roles,” she said.

Broome-based lawyer Cara Peek was crowned the winner of the 2020 AgriFutures National Rural Women’s Award for her work in driving employment opportunities for First Nations people in remote Australia.

Ms Peek founded Saltwater Country, an Indigenous-led not-for-profit which develops and oversees a number of evidence-based programs delivered with cultural integrity, allowing students to undertake training in their own communities across the disciplines of horsemanship, equine therapy, agribusiness, marketing, and event management.

Cressida Cains makes cheese from sheep milk. Picture: Leah Timms

“Winning the award is great recognition of the work that we’ve undertaken and I hope that it will generate the network and support that we need to achieve all the things we aim to

Ms Peek was awarded $10,000 in addition to the $10,000 she received as a state finalist. As the runner up, Ms Cain received a $5000 to further Dairy Cocoon.

The other state and territory finalists include rural mental health advocate Kelly Barnes (Dunkeld, Vic), horticultural expert Karen Brocks (Winkleigh, Tas), livestock marketer Elisha Parker (Clermont, Qld), rural psychologist Stephanie Schmidt (Burra, SA) and marine biologist and sustainable aquaculture advocate Amy Kirke (Darwin, NT).

The Rural Women’s Award has been celebrating regional and rural women and their contributions for 21 years. Although AgriFutures were unable to host their usual gala at Parliament House, the virtual event was a well-orchestrated feat.

2019 winner Jo Palmer with 2020 Runner up Cressida Cains and Belinda Allitt at Wagga Wagga RSL for the 2021 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award.

AgriFutures Australia communications and capacity building general manager, Belinda Allitt, emphasised the importance of celebrating the success of innovative women and their contributions to Australian agriculture.

“It’s about showing that we can lift women up and if we showcase women it really lifts everyone up, with ideas for starting a business or following through on their ideas or their dreams,” she said.

Ms Cains said the best advice she could give was to get as much experience as possible.

However, she cautions, “be careful not to limit yourself to one particular part of agriculture as often what you learn in one area can be used quite successfully in another. Look where your interests lie, and where you can really make a contribution.”