The Tasmanian Country team say goodbye.

After four decades, the last edition of Tasmanian Country will be arriving in mailboxes across the state today.

Mount Roland from Kindred

I  CLEARLY remember the day when my boss offered me a job with Tasmanian Country.

A country girl at heart, I couldn’t believe my luck: working with the state’s main rural newspaper was my dream job.

Now, almost two decades down the track, it still is.

I learnt a valuable lesson early on when I headed out to one of my first jobs.

After apologising about my very limited knowledge of dry-matter pasture production and asking what I thought were too many questions, the farmer I was interviewing gave me some sound advice.

“Never worry about asking questions, that’s how you learn, and it’s better to check than put something wrong in the paper and look like and idiot,” he said.

Very wise words, which I’ve never forgotten.

One of the things that has struck me over the years is how unassuming and humble most farmers are. They can be running highly complex and innovative multimillion-dollar businesses, but few seek out recognition. As far as they’re concerned, it’s just what they do.

Looking back, it has been quite a journey. As a rural journalist working in a small community, I’ve always felt a great sense of responsibility to do justice to the subjects I write about.

Four decades of Tas Country

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We are often there for some of the best and the worst times in people’s lives. It takes a great deal of trust to allow basically a complete stranger into your home, to share your story with the public, and I’ve never taken that for granted.

I have also been amazed by the resilience and dedication of country people.

There are plenty of tough times in agriculture and I clearly remember the heartbreak of drought when producers had to sell their sheep for 50c each just to get them off the farm, or the devastating 2016 floods that saw some farmers lose stock they had spent decades breeding.

Rather than give up, farmers just keep going and when the next good season or a big lift in market prices comes along, they’ll be ready for it.

One of my favourite parts of the job has been seeing parts of the state many never get to visit.

While it’s easy to take Tasmania’s unique landscapes for granted, I’ve often found myself heading up someone’s driveway and marvelling at this place where we live.

However, what I’ll miss most are the people.

To everyone who has welcomed me on to your farms over the years, thank you.

Thanks for the countless cups of tea, the homemade biscuits and the scones.

Thank you for trusting me to tell your stories, it has been an absolute privilege.

This is the final edition of Tasmanian Country, which is being closed after News Corp Australia last month announced changes to its media titles across the country. The Mercury and the Sunday Tasmanian remain unchanged and will continue to publish seven days a week in print and online.

On behalf of the Tasmanian Country team I’d like to thank all advertising clients and industry organisations for their support over the past four decades.

Most of all, I’d like to thank our extremely loyal readers and all the farmers who have so willingly shared their stories over the years.