Spotlight shines on regenerative condition

Tending to chickens, pigs, cows, ducks, bees and veggies is all in a day’s work for Virginia Mall, a farmer on the NSW central coast.

Regenerative farmer and Shine Awards nominee Virginia Mall with her son Ethan on their property on the NSW central coast. Picture: Jane Dempster

Tending to chickens, pigs, cows, ducks, bees and veggies is all in a day’s work for Virginia Mall, a regenerative farmer on the NSW central coast.

When her son Ethan was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2005, she began learning about the importance of where her family’s food came from and how it was grown.

She decided to pack up and move out of suburban Sydney with her husband, Tony, and children, and purchased a 10ha block of land two hours north in Kulnura.

“It was pretty crazy when you think about it in hindsight,” she said. “My husband was still commuting to work in Sydney, so I had the kids and managed to get them to and from school.

“We moved up here to start a business where we were going to sell direct to customers, but we didn’t know anyone at all.”

Passionate about reconnecting people to where their food comes from, as well as educating her local community, Mall has since built a thriving business.

Not only does she feed her local community – through Grace Springs Farm’s fresh organic produce – but she has also reinspired her community to care about the food they eat as well as helped them to reconnect with each other.

“I think the two things that used to underpin communities in our grandparents’ generation were food and farming. We used to be a lot more connected to where our food comes from and understanding how it was grown.

“Helping people understand what’s involved in growing food also means they’re less likely to waste it, as well as have respect for the food and the effort that’s been put into growing it.”

Her community-minded spirit is why she has been nominated in this year’s annual Shine Awards, which put a spotlight on the untold stories of rural and ­regional women.

A partnership between Aus­tralia’s leading rural and regional masthead The Weekly Times and Harvey Norman, the fifth Shine Awards recognise unsung leaders and ­innovators who make a real ­difference to their communities.

Mall’s son has since recovered but she tragically lost her husband in a heart attack nine months ago.

Despite her grief, she continues to give to her community and says it’s her customers and friends who have helped her rebuild.

“There’s also farmers around me who are supposed to be competitors and yet we help each other so much,” she said.

“Especially since my husband passed, I don’t think our business would still be going if these people hadn’t been sort of dragging me along.”

Readers are encouraged to nominate women whose stories deserve to be told at shine­awards.com.au. The winners will be announced in November.