Celebrating women on the land this International Rural Women’s Day
This International Rural Women’s Day, we take a look at some of Australia’s hardest-working women. View our list of admirable women here.
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TO MARK International Rural Women’s Day, we are shining a light on some of the incredible rural women who are setting the pace in Australia’s agriculture industry.
NETTY WEDNT, CENTRAL QUEENSLAND
Netty Wednt is principal of Ray White Rural Gracemere.
The natural leader said she loved working with rural and remote Queenslanders, “who are a complex and wonderful mix of caring, hardworking, innovative, resilient and respectful people”.
“They make my job easy,” she said.
Netty oversees a portfolio of sale properties from small rural blocks to large-scale farming aggregations in Central Queensland.
She also holds an environmental science degree.
“Although the majority of livestock agents, and large-scale rural property agents, are men, I can honestly say that all of the gentlemen I have worked with are nothing but supportive and encouraging of seeing more women in the industry,” she said.
SADYE WINES, BALLARAT, VICTORIA
Sadye is a livestock agent who works at the Central Victorian Livestock Exchange.
From milking cows in Victoria’s South Gippsland where she grew up, to working on a central Queensland cattle property, Sadye has embracing all aspects of the agriculture industry.
In 2016, she started as a full-time Livestock Stock and Station agent with Elders, based at Ballarat.
A day in her life includes walking the catwalks at CVLX, calling bids and booking sales at sheep and cattle markets.
“When it’s not a sale day, I am on farm with clients weighing stock or assessing cattle and sheep and determining the best sale options,” she said. “People might be surprised to know I have mustered buffalo in the Northern Territory that were destined for export to Vietnam.
“My advice to other young women considering a job like mine is to work out where your passion is and follow it. I am a huge believer that if there is something you want to do, then you should go out and give it your best shot.”
MARGIE BALE, QUEENSLAND
Margie is one of Australia’s only camel vets.
From working as a mixed practice vet north of Brisbane, to a stint in rural England, to working in Emerald and becoming a cattle vet, Margie found her calling when she started working for producers and farmers.
“I realised that agriculture is where it’s at for me – these are my people,” Margie said. “The industry is progressive, driven by doing the best for the animals and improving the bottom line. Producers want good information that can help their animals and I’ve always felt supported working as a woman in agriculture.”
Margie was working at the University of Queensland clinic and was contracted to be an on-call vet at the Brisbane Ekka – looking after everything from turkeys to goats and cows – when she was asked by someone starting a camel milk dairy if she had any experience with camels.
She has gone on to working with camels full time, and undertaking research supported by AgriFutures Australia’s Emerging Industries Program. The program is devoted to developing a new test that can confirm pregnancy in wild camels.
Along with vet work, Margie is contributing to development of a camel meat industry in Australia.
“Camels are so well suited to our arid country and are a great source of protein,” she said. “Their growth rates are excellent and it’s even possible to co-graze camels and cattle together.”
CARLY NOBLE, ARNOLD, VICTORIA
Arnold farmer Carly Noble is a driving force behind a mental health gift hamper initiative that is helping Victoria’s farmers feel connected and supported during the pandemic.
She is one of 24 Victorian women who have taken part in the government’s Leadership and Mentoring Program to turn ideas into tangible outcomes for their communities.
This year Carly was one of three rural women to accept a funded place on a Regional Leadership program through the Victorian Rural Women’s Network.
During the program, Carly developed her ideas about connecting small farm businesses and helping rural people who were feeling the effects of COVID-19 lockdowns.
The initiative expanded to include a team of volunteers who send up to 15 hampers a week to vulnerable people across six shires.
JACKIE ELLIOTT, BYADUK, VICTORIA
Byaduk local Jackie Elliott is a fifth-generation farmer who has been involved in rural communities her whole life.
Last year she ran a successful Rural Women’s Day event in Dunkeld, and has followed it up this year by launching a Rural Women’s Day magazine, sharing stories from across Australia and New Zealand.
Jackie attended Emerald Ag College, in Queensland, and was awarded the 2014 Matthew George Young Stockman’s Award scholarship to study the beef industry in North America for three months.
She has lived in Victoria’s Western District for the past 10 years, where she works in animal health and farm supplies while organising events to bring together local rural women.
“In May this year, with early realisation that an event of that size was more likely not going to be possible because of the pandemic, I reached out to some locals who had expressed interest from the previous year in being involved,” Jackie said. “We knew we had the capacity to share women’s stories, and do something really impressive, inspirational for a year like no other.”
The Rural Women’s Day magazine is available to order online.
GRACE MOONEY, CENTRAL TABLELANDS, NSW
Livestock Administrator Grace Mooney understands there is no room for error when you are playing with someone’s livelihood.
“I have to make sure my concentration is running high so I don’t miss a beat when sales are moving quickly,” said Grace, who works at Central Tablelands Livestock Exchange.
“A day in my life is usually spent helping facilitate sales from the time when the trucks arrive, to drafting stock, and then following through with all the administrative tasks after the gavel falls. It is a high-pressure environment when the auctions are running, but I truly love having a hand in the full sale process. And when I’m not at the yards, I am in the office organising and processing private sales.”
The livestock industry is in Grace’s blood – her father is a joint principal at Ray White Emms Mooney.
She said her dad and his business partner, Ben Emms, had been excellent mentors.
“My advice to other young women considering a job like mine is to go for it, and to leave nothing left in the tank. I think this is a job where you need to be confident and give it all you have. I would also say you need to be prepared to ask questions. I have found, in this industry there are so many people who are more than willing to help you,” she said.
DR ANH NGUYEN, TASMANIA
Dr Anh Nguyen has been busy making new batches of wine while bunkered down on her vineyard in Tasmania during COVID-19.
A viticulturist and biodynamic winemaker, Anh has moved to experimenting with new wine products at Torch Bearer Wines during lockdown.
She was the 2019 Tasmanian AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award State Winner, honoured for her innovative approach to sustainability, with smart farm monitoring and control systems to optimise farm management.
Unable to travel overseas due to the global restrictions, nothing stopped her from this year launching a new wine product in Vietnam and building an automatic frost control system, which is driven by artificial intelligence.
“It’s pretty cool to be able to sleep through the night during the frost season and let artificial intelligence take over, no error, no feeling interference, it’s all based on data and science,” she said.
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